Broken
by scarlettfire
Summary: When you're nothing but an experiment, how do you deal?
1. Beginning

**Broken**

**AN: Hello again. My third story. :) For anyone who wonders.  
I like naming things with another language. Latin and Italian are my favorites. Mostly cause I am Italian. However, as what normally happens when I go this route. I end up making it English again. So for anyone who cares. This was once Fragosus. (Latin)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. (or anything else for that matter)**

* * *

Chapter one: (Beginning)

"She needs a name." Sarah Kinney told her boss. He was a small man, lean and seemingly breakable. His form did nothing to betray his true strength and power. Stephen West was the man who forbid the experiment, then, when Sarah went ahead anyway, sanctioned it. Since then he'd bounced between her greatest ally and greatest enemy.

"Why?" Stephen asked. He was patient, he'd hear her out before deciding.

"We want her to do tasks for the company, correct?" Sarah kept her gaze level. The room was dark, she was grateful, he might have seen her slightly shaking fists in better light. Stephen nodded. "Tasks that might require her to infiltrate?" Again Stephen nodded. "Then she needs a name."

"You have a point." Stephen said. She'd never come to him before with this request, but he knew it was on her mind constantly. After all, she was the closest thing to a mother it had. He laughed internally. The thing even seemed to have a preference for the woman, didn't always want attack her. Sarah wanted to name her child, she probably already had a name in mind. "Make a list of names. A first and a last, maybe a middle if it wants it. Let it chose." Stephen said finally. Sarah was the only one who would refer to it as a female. To the rest of the lab, it was X-23 or just simply, It.

"Thank you sir." Sarah said through clenched teeth. She left the dark office before she could do something stupid. She was thankful the halls seemed to be empty. The clerical white of the walls haunted her. Reminded her that it was her own fault her daughter lived. Her daughter, she would always think of the little spitfire that way. At first, when she came up with the idea, it was just another experiment. They told her no, but it didn't stop her. For punishment, they made her carry the child. She was constantly watched, but it didn't stop her from forming an attachment. She loved the little girl. She felt so guilty for her existence.

She hadn't even noticed where she was going. Sarah found herself outside the entrance to her daughters cell. The red light was on, it was still early. Sarah went to the little control room that watched over the cell.

"What're you doing here?" The girl behind the control panel asked Sarah. Sarah couldn't remember her name, just her face.

"Boss said to let me in." Sarah said.

"I didn't get a call." The girl said dismissive. Of course he didn't. Not yet. Sarah nodded, a tight movement. She left, went back to her office. She turned on her computer and started typing names in a new word document. All L names. Her daughter. She'd always thought her name should begin with an L. Sarah had always thought of her as Laura. She typed that name first. Then others.

The last name column took more thought. She refused to use any of the names of her colleagues. She hadn't even realized it until she printed out the list. Her own last name was on the list. Sarah went back to the control room.

"He call yet?" She asked as lightly as possible. The girl just nodded, not paying attention. Sarah left, went to the cell entrance, pushed the little white button sunken into the wall. A soft buzzing sound and the door opened. A small containment room, X-23 couldn't ever be allowed out. No doors directly to the hall could be permitted. Sarah waited for the next door to open.

"Hello." Sarah said into the cell when it did. The cell was as jarringly white as the halls. Everything about this space was white. All except on form stretched out on the floor. There was no proper bed in here, not even a platform, there was just the floor. No pillow or blankets either. Sarah steeled herself, such horrible conditions.

X-23 lay on the floor, her hospital gown to small for her growing body. Her brown hair was fanned out behind her. Splotches of it were a dark brownish red, dried blood, she hadn't been allowed to wash in a while. She didn't open her ice blue eyes, didn't let her breathing slip from its rhythm, but Sarah knew she was awake.

"They've decided to give you a name." Sarah said and walked into the cell. Sixteen years, it had taken sixteen years to manage a way to name this child.

"I don't want one." X-23 said, her voice low, slightly husky. She opened her eyes and pulled herself into a sitting position. She moved so gracefully, it was hard to believe sometimes that she was human. Even when rage took over her mind, she was beautiful to watch.

"I've made a list for you to chose from." Sarah said, stepping closer. She stopped a few feet from the teen and sat on the ground. It was a dangerous thing to do, but Sarah didn't care. If she was going to die, if her daughter was going to kill her, she knew it would be a deserved punishment. She could only hope that the teen would kill everyone else in this damn lab when that happened.

X-23 scooted a little closer. Despite everything that was wrong with her life, she was still curious, still innocent somehow. She cocked her head at the paper in Sarah's hands.

"This is it. You remember how to read." It had been so long ago, but while X-23 was still young, still too small to train, Stephen had let Sarah teach her things.

"Yes." X-23 said. Sarah gave her daughter the paper.

"Pick one from the first column, that's your first name. You can pick two if you like. A first and a middle." Sarah explained. "Then pick one from the second column, that will be your last name."

X-23 read over the list. Her face impassive. "What is this one?" She asked, putting the paper on the floor and pointing to one.

"Kinney." Sarah said. "It's my last name." X-23 looked up at her.

"You're my mother, what would you name me?" X-23 asked.

Sarah tried not to let her breathing differ. She picked up the paper. She knew already though. "I'd name you Laura."

"Lexa Laura Kinney." X-23 said.

"You pick Lexa too?" Sarah asked. X-23 nodded. "I've brought a pen, want to practice writing it?" Sarah pulled out a pen. The teen took the pen and began writing down the letters. She wrote huge, like a child, holding the pen with her fist. "Let me show you." Sarah said, pulling another pen from her pocket.

She wrote on the corner of paper closest to her. _Lexa Laura Kinney. _X-23 watched her hand, then arranged her own around the pen to match. She wrote again, it was smaller, but still shaky. Still unsure.

Sarah watched her write her new name, Lexa Laura Kinney. Sarah smiled internally. Lexa, a pretty name, one Sarah had also thought about suggesting. It took a few minutes, but soon Lexa's hand got used to writing the name. Her letters formed smoothly. They took on her natural grace, making her handwriting look so much more polished than anything that Sarah herself had tried to produce. Her daughter was so beautiful. How she wished she had a normal life or none at all. Anything but this torture.

"What's that curvy connected writing?" Lexa asked. Sarah was confused for a moment.

"You mean cursive. It's rarely ever used, just for signing stuff usually." Sarah explained.

"Teach me." Lexa demanded.

"Okay." Sarah said. She wrote out Lexa's full name in cursive. Lexa had only managed to get through it once before the door opened. Lexa ignored it, continuing what she was doing. She knew they were here, she always did.

"X-23, get up." A stern voice said. Sarah stood. It was time to go. For a while there, it was almost like she was a normal mother with a normal daughter. Now, now the torturer known as a trainer was here to beat the teen.

Sarah forced her hands to stay still. For years she'd been trying to think of a way to get Lexa away from this place. It was impossible.

"Leave Kinney." The same stern voice said.

"Keep practicing." Sarah said to Lexa. Then she left, not allowing her eyes to rest on the trainer.


	2. Changes For Another Day

**Broken**

**AN: In this chapter, the reason for the title is revealed. **

**Disclaimer: Still sulking 'cause don't own X-Men.**

* * *

Chapter two (Changes for another day)

"Kinney." Stephen said, a smirk was on his delicate, partially covered face.

"Yes." Sarah answered. It was never good when she was called to his office.

"Something has come to my attention regarding X-23."

"What?" Sarah tried to keep the fear from her voice. Stephen's smirk widened.

"Now, now, no need to fret. It killed it's trainer today. Third one in as many months."

"What have you decided?"

"Either your lucky day or your death sentence, Kinney. Depends how you look at it. I've made the decision to let it out for assimilation into the human world. "Stephen said behind his folded hands. "I've decided to make you it's new trainer."

"Um, sir." Sarah began.

"It's not up for discussion, Kinney. You either take the job or it will be eliminated. It's becoming a liability."I'll do it." Sarah said, maybe a little to quickly.

"That's what I thought." Stephen said, allowing his hands to fall to his desk. "Now go, talk to it Your apartment is already being prepared." Sarah left, keeping her step even down the white hallways. She was excited and scared. Stephen was right. This was her lucky day, and her death sentence. However this experiment turned out, she wouldn't trade this chance for anything.

She didn't even bother with the control room. They most likely knew before she even stepped foot in Stephen's office. The door buzzed softly and Sarah went in. The moment the first door closed, the second opened.

"Twice in one week, or has more time passed?" A voice asked. Lexa. It had been so easy to start thinking of her by that name, so much easier than X-23.

"No, you're right." Sarah told the voice. The cell looked the same as ever, white and barren. Lexa was leaned against the wall facing the door. She was the first thing the eye noticed. She was the only colour. She was red.

Long ago Sarah had gotten used to seeing Lexa covered in dried blood. But this, this was worse than anything she'd ever seen. Lexa's normally brown hair was burgundy, her pale skin was splotched with dark reddish-brown, and her hospital gown was ripped to shreds. Modesty wasn't even given a fleeting thought. She looked terrible.

"I'm here to tell you something." Sarah began. The cell hadn't been sterilized, there was a ribbon of dried blood on the door that was hidden until it was to late to get out. "You've been assigned a new trainer, as well as a new skill to learn."

Lexa stared from her seat, quiet. The movement was slight, almost imperceptible, She cocked her stained head"your to learn how to assimilate, how to blend into the human world." Sarah told Lexa. "It's been decided that, that I'll be your trainer."

Lexa's head cocked more, in a way meant to be seen

"The plan for assimilation was for you to live with your trainer and be taught how to function and blend into the human world. that means you'll be living with me." Sarah said, attempting to keep her voice from shaking.

"When?" Lexa asked.

"Today, I think." Sarah answered.

Lexa nodded. "Go."

"Alright." Sarah said. She stood and left the barren blood stained cell with it's killer inside.

She was almost to her office when the tears stared to run down her cheeks.

* * *

She stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the blood on her. It was everywhere. It was choking her. It stunk, and it was uncomfortable. She couldn't move without dried blood flaking and crackling. Disgusting.

_Laura._

**_Lexa._**

_We get to live with Sarah now._

_**Yeah, but what does that mean? She's our trainer now.**_

_It's not the same kind of training, you heard that._

**_It doesn't have to be, we swore to hate all our trainers. To kill them all._**

_We don't hate Sarah, we can't hate Sarah._

**_I don't want to hate her either, but_**

_I think you do._

**_I don't._**

_Shh, hear that?_

**_What?_**

_Listen._

**_Oh, yes, someone is coming._**

_I wish we could smell who, we're too covered in the last trainer's blood._

**_Shh, the door's opening now._**

"X-23 get up." The male voice came. _**Oh, a new one.** Yes a new one, no old one would speak to us this way. **Hehe, let's torture him. **Shh, he speaks. Let's hear him speak, then we hurt him. _"It's time for you to go." _**Go?** Does he mean with Sarah?_

"Go?" Lexa asked

"Your going to Ms. Kinney's apartment now." The guy in the doorway said. _Laura, let me have control of the body, it's my turn. **Fine Lexa, don't screw this up.** I won't._

Lexa stood slowly. She moved with her usual deadly grace to the doorway. It was halfway across the cell when the gun came up. She'd barely had a chance to register it before the tranquilizer was shot at her. It took her out immediately. So much stronger than usual.

Still, her awareness was still there. She could tell that the man picked her up with obvious disgust. That he dumped her onto a cart as soon as possible. She was wheeled away. Put into another thing that moved with wheels. It was smoother than the cart, and less noisy, the wheels made so little sound compared.

She was powerless to do anything.

**_I told you not to screw it up._**

_It would have happened to you too._

**_Your right._**

Lexa and Laura kept quite then, they had nothing else to talk about. Only recently had they been named. They each picked a name. They'd heard Sarah called Kinney before. They weren't stupid. It wasn't hard to figure out that she had two names, that she was their mother. Lexa had seen the name, instantly picked it. Laura had asked to be named. The body had three names now. Lexa Laura Kinney.

Lexa felt the body awaken first. She took control before they could fight.

"Your awake." It was Sarah's voice. Lexa opened her eyes. The faint familiar spark of warmth sprouting in her stomach at the sight of the woman. She guessed they looked alike, she hoped. She had no idea what her reflection was. "First things first. Let's get you washed up."

Sarah waited for Lexa to move, to get up from the place she was before she walked away backwards, watching her.

The colour, there was so much colour, it was everywhere. She didn't know the names for these colours. She'd only ever seen white and red. No. She'd seen another colour. The colour of the blood in her veins while it was still under her skin. Lexa shut her eyes. Too much.

She felt a hand close around her wrist, it was gentel, she could pull away with an easy movement. She didn't. Sarah had never touched her before. Sarah led her down a hallway. Into a room where everything echoed.

"This is the bathroom. You know what that is right?" Sarah asked. Lexa shook her head. "Okay. Stay right here." Lexa heard something squeak and then water was running. Falling an hitting something hard. "I'm going to take your gown off, then I want you to step into this tub." Sarah said. Lexa opened her eyes. This room was much easier on her eyes. White and the blood colour under her skin.

"Now step in." Sarah said. Lexa did as told. She was pelted with warm water by something Sarah was holding. "Please sit." Vaguely Lexa and Laura wondered what 'please' meant. Lexa sat anyway. More water. "You might want to close your eyes." Sarah warned. Lexa closed her eyes. Blackness filled her vision again. Something that made bubbles went on her head. It was cold, Sarah rubbed it in. She started making a sound, under her breath, it wasn't like speaking. A vibration in her throat.

Sarah rinsed her head and then put more bubble stuff on it. She repeated this four or five times. Then she started scrubbing Lexa's back. "You can open yor eyes now." The water swirled off her and went down a metal plate with holes. It was reddish-brown.

"What is the other colour in here?" Lexa asked.

"Hmm," Sarah said. "Oh, it's blue. I guess you've never really seen it before huh. You barely saw anyone and the people you did see had lab coats on." Something was in Sarah's voice. Lexa couldn't tell what, just that it tugged at something behind her eyes.

"No, it's the colour of the blood under my skin. The blood in my veins. Why does blood change colour?"

"Um, when blood hits the air, it tuns red. It turns red because the air has something called oxygen in it. People need oxygen to breath, to live." Sarah explained.

"Oxygen makes blood red." Lexa clarified.

"Yup." Sarah said. "Now turn around." Lexa did. Sarah took her arm and started scrubbing it with some kind of fluffy scratchy thing. It was blue with white bubbles on it. Sarah scrubbed until Lexa's skin was pink and the water rinsed clear. Sarah attacked every part of her body with the fluffy scratchy thing. Then she rinsed her one final time. "I brought you some of my clothes that might fit you. So stand up." Lexa stood and Sarah wrapped a warm fluffy cloth around her. Lexa stepped out of the tub and Sarah took another fluffy cloth and started dabbing at her. When she was satisfied that whatever she wanted was done, she took away the fluffy cloth wrapped around Lexa and lifted up her arms. She slid a cloth thing down her arms and pulled her head through a hole. Then she put another cloth thing around Lexa's feet and pulled up until it reached the first cloth thing. A towel, tee-shirt and sweatpants. Sarah supplied as she worked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't get all the red out of your hair. It's clean, just stained." Sarah said.

"What's sorry, and please?" Lexa asked.

"Um, sorry is when your, um, it's hard to explain actually. Um, oh, I know. It's when you want to be able to do something, but you can't, and that makes you sorry you can't. As for please, please is a way to polite when asking for something." Sarah explained. Lexa didn't know what 'polite' meant. "It means manners, something I'm too teach you."

Lexa nodded. The sweatpants and tee-shirt were soft, comfortable. They smelled good, she didn't know of what, just that it smelled like Sarah.

"Are you tired?" Sarah asked. Lexa yawned involuntarily. Sarah took her wrist again and brought her to another room. It was dark, nice. Lexa fell asleep, she didn't know when.


	3. To Learn To Live

**Broken**

**AN: This ones a bit boring, but necessary. **

**Disclaimer: 'I'm off living my fantastic life of owning X-Men, please leave a message.' :beep:_ If only._**

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Chapter three: (To learn to live)

**_Lexa, it's my turn._**

_Fine. _

Laura opened her eyes. The room was dark. "Good morning." Sarah. Laura sat up. There she was. "Today we learn colours." Laura nodded.

Sarah brought things into the dark room slowly. Showing her different things with different colours. So many different names. Some she'd seen other places. Someones eyes, hair, shoes. Others, never before. Orange, purple and pink. She'd never seen those before. Laura and Sarah spent most of the day in the dark room, learning colours. Then Sarah took Laura out. It wasn't a shock today. She could more or less name every colour she saw.

"This is a kitchen. I'm going to make lunch. You haven't eaten for a while have you?" Sarah stood in a brown and tan kitchen. There was spots of orange and purple in this room, on the floor and on the counter tops. There were big black things. A fridge, stove, dishwasher, coffee makers, toaster, microwave. Sarah pointed them each out. A sink, cabinets, faucet, table, chairs.

Sarah opened the fridge and took out some things. Bread and grape jelly. Then she opened a cabinet and took out another jar. Peanut butter. Sarah opened a drawer and pulled out a butter-knife and a spoon. She spooned jelly onto a slice of bread and spread peanut butter on another slice of bread. She put them together. Then did it again. Sandwiches. "Here." She gave it Laura. She went back to the fridge, pulled out a gallon of milk and poured it in a glass she pulled from a cabinet.

"What do I do with it?" Laura asked.

"You eat the , sandwich and drink the milk. It's lunch. The meal in the middle of the day." Sarah supplied. She sat down at the table. "Come and sit." Laura did. She'd never been this, cooperative with one of her trainers before. Well, not since the beginning, but then she had been young, she didn't know how to fight then. This, this was different. This was Sarah, and she wasn't teaching Laura how to fight, she was teaching her other things. Like she had before when Laura was still too young to fight, too young to be broken.

Laura mirrored Sarah's movements, taking a bite of the sandwich. It was sweet and sticky. Before she realized it, it was gone. Sarah's mouth twitched. "Still hungry?" Sarah asked. "Do you want more food?" Laura's stomach answered for her. It growled aggressively. "Here, have mine. I'll make another one." Sarah handed over her own untouched sandwich. Laura took it without thinking. It was gone before Sarah was done spreading peanut butter on another slice of bread.

"When was the last time you ate something?" Sarah asked. Laura shook her head and shrugged. Her third trainer had done that a lot. Laura thought it meant 'I don't know.'

Sarah didn't say anything else. Just gave Laura more food until the teen stopped eating it. "Let's take a tour." Sarah led Laura through the door into the first room she'd seen. She called it the living room. The floor was brown and the walls were a dull creamy yellow. The things in the room were grey and black with touches of purple and white. A television, a couch, coffee tables. Another room, the dinning room, was brown floored with light blue walls and brown things. A china cabinet, dinning table, more chairs, a bar table. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, it was made of plastic that was pretending to be crystal.

"This is the hallway. It gets you to most of the other rooms in the house. What's on the floor is called a carpet." Sarah explained. The walls were the same creamy yellow as the living room and the carpet was grey. "This door opens to my room." Sarah opened the farthest door. The room was lit by a large window. The walls were light blue and the carpet was off-white. "That's a bed, a dresser and the door to my closet. That door is to my bathroom. You were in it yesterday." Sarah pointed.

She closed the door. Another bathroom. Black and white. Then to the last door in the hallway. "This was my guestroom. Now it's your room. You were in here earlier if you remember." Sarah opened the door. She scurried in and pulled on something. A thing went up and revealed a window. "I had the shade pulled down so you'd be more comfortable." Laura just stared. This was such a different place. There was colour. Sarah. No one had yelled at her yet. She'd been fed. She was clean. She had things on her body she never had before.

"You slept on the floor last night, but I guessed that you would. I think the bed would have freaked you out." Sarah said. She pointed to something covered in black. It looked similar to what was in Sarah's room. She also had a dresser like Sarah, it was black. The floor was black carpet. The walls were that light blue that had been in Sarah's room and the dinning room. "I really didn't have time to set this place up for you myself. In fact, when I came home barely anything was changed. There's just cameras everywhere now and new computerized locks on the doors."

"Sarah?" Laura spoke.

"Yes?"

"I'm confused."

"About?"

"Everything."

"I know. It's my job to make you understand. What do you want to know?" Sarah asked. "Come sit on the bed. Start learnng to make yourself comfortable." Waited for Laura to sit on the black thing before she too sat on it.

"Why am I learning this? What is this?" Laura asked. Something about Sarah made her calmer. She'd never asked a trainer that before, not since the first time. That trainer had been angry, had hurt her. Laura couldn't foresee Sarah hurting her, or even being able too.

"For the same reason you learned everything else you have. Because the company decided you had too. As for what it is. Your learning how to act like a human. That way, when your among them, you won't stand out." Sarah answered.

"Why are you my trainer?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is that the company picked me for the job."

"Will I be fighting?"

"Not that I know of." Sarah answered. "Do you need the bathroom?"

"What's the bathroom for?" Laura asked. Sarah answered. "Then yes."

"This is going to be quite interesting." Sarah said under her breath. It didn't matter how low she said it. Laura heard.


	4. Conversations With Myself And Without

**Broken**

**AN: So I decided to have Lexa and Laura have a conversation, because, well, they don't really get to talk to each other a lot. They mostly just decide who's getting control of the body that day.**

**Disclaimer: Lalala, I own X-Me (lightning) . . . lalala I own nothing?**

* * *

Chapter four (Conversations with myself and without)

_Sarah said this was called a mirror. _

**_She said it's our reflection we see._**

_Our eyes are blue, like Sarah's. _

**_I thought we were a clone. Shouldn't we look like Logan._**

_Maybe we do. We don't know was he looks like._

**_Yeah._**

_We can ask Sarah what he looks like._

**_We can._**

_Also, we're incomplete._

**_Maybe Sarah gave us the rest. The part they couldn't find from Logan._**

_Sounds like the best we'll come up with._

**_It does._**

_Our hair is red now. Sarah said it was brown._

**_Brown like the wood floors._**

_Now we look like our hair is dried blood._

**_I don't like it._**

_I like our room colour._

**_Black._**

_Blue._

_**We don't know how to change our hair colour. Where will we get black blood. Or blue blood.**_

_The blood under our skin is blue._

**_It won't stay that way if we take it out._**

_Maybe we should ask Sarah._

**_How do we be polite again? I always forget._**

_Your not as good with it as me. _

**_Hmpf._**

_Which is why I usually come out in the manner lessons._

**_I'm better at writing._**

_And fighting._

**_Well, I actually like fighting. You don't. Neither does X-23._**

_She just likes to sleep and kill. You know that Laura._

**_Only that nasty scent wakes her up. Good thing too._**

_That it's the only thing._

**_She's too strong. She takes us over without any effort._**

_She does. Why are we talking about X-23?_

**_I don't know._**

_You brought her up._

**_Shut up!_**

_Manners._

**_Don't quote a trainer. _**

_Don't growl. And it's Sarah._

**_She's still our trainer._**

_She's polite to us. No one else is polite to us._

**_Then you go run to your precious trainer._**

_You like her too. Don't give me that, Laura._

**_. . ._**

_You asked her to name you._

**_And you didn't Lexa. It doesn't make a difference. She's our trainer. We have to kill her eventually._**

_It hurts you too. I can feel it._

**_We share a body. We're always awake together. We were once the same. Of course you can feel what I do._**

_It confuses me sometimes. When your feeling something strong I forget who I am._

**_The same._**

_We have to kill her._

**_I know._**

_We'll have to ask Sarah about the hair, I hate it._

**_Me too, I don't want anything from our trainers._**

_We'll never be able to get rid of everything._

**_I don't want to carry it around like a token._**

_Neither do I._

_**We usually do agree.**_

_We have pretty eyes, you know. Sarah's._

**_A token._**

_We both like them, Laura._

**_Because they're hers, or because they're ours._**

_I don't know._

_**Hers.**_

_Hers._

**_That confuses me more than anything._**

_You want to ask her._

**_But you can't._**

_Then she'll know,_

**_There's something so wrong with us,_**

_Even we know it._

**_It's their fault. _**

_The trainers._

**_We used to be one._**

_Now we're three._

**_It's why we have to kill them all._**

_Kill them and escape._

**_To where?_**

_To what?_

**_How will we live?_**

_We let Sarah teach us._

**_Then we leave._**

_We kill her._

**_I know. I feel the pain too._**

_Why?_

**_Why does it hurt us that we have to kill her?_**

_I wish we knew._

**_Then we could cut it out._**

_It wouldn't hurt us anymore._

**_No._**

_It still would._

**_It would._**

_. . ._

**_We don't have Sarah's face._**

_No, we don't. Maybe it's Logan's._

**_Logan. I forgot. How did we learn his name again?_**

_The fourth trainer._

**_Oh yeah. She'd met him, or something._**

_Refused to call him Weapon X._

**_Only called him Logan or Wolveri..._**

_Wolverine._

**_Yeah, that. Let's ask Sarah what a wolverine is._**

_Let's._

**_How old are we?_**

_Sarah said sixteen years. She also told us our birthday. _

**_Birthday. She told us what that meant. The day we came alive._**

_Why do you want to know?_

**_You should know, you hear my thoughts._**

_I don't know how long we'll live ether._

**_I hope it's a long time. _**

_We want to see everything._

**_I want to fight._**

_I want to meet people._

**_Have a friend._**

_Sarah told us what a dictionary was._

**_We looked it up._**

_The first trainer told us we'd never have friends._

**_We never knew what that word meant._**

_I want a friend._

**_Just to prove the old bitch wrong._**

_And because I want one._

**_You are selfish aren't you?_**

_You are too._

**_I know._**

_We are a selfish being. It's in our nature._

**_Sarah teaches us so many knew words._**

_We have been here for four months._

**_That's the longest we've had a trainer in a long time._**

_It's because it's Sarah._

**_She trusts us now._**

_We trust her too. Never forget that._

**_We still have to kill her._**

_No matter that it hurts us._

**_No matter at all._**

_We can't sleep._

**_No._**

_Does that mean it's soon._

**_It might. That or change is coming._**

_I'm not sure which I want._

**_Change has never been good for us._**

_Remember our claws._

**_They didn't even tell us what they were doing._**

_Not a single word._

**_I hate them._**

_We'll kill them. Don't worry._

**_I'm not worried._**

_Anxious?_

**_Yeah. I want them dead already._**

_If they all die. We won't have to kill Sarah._

**_Hmm._**

_Think about it._

**_She wouldn't be our trainer anymore._**

_She could just be our mother._

**_We looked up that word too._**

_We did._

**_We could leave Sarah alive._**

_I like this plan better._

**_Me too._**

_We do this one._

**_Kill everyone._**

_Leave Sarah._

**_Leave Sarah._**


	5. Scare The Guards, Steal The City

**Broken**

**AN: I typed this once and then I went to save it, the Internet connection was lost. I was like 'GAHH!!' Completely unfair. So, this is take two. Believe it or not. It's shorter.**

**Disclaimer: Um mm. (clears throat) I hereby decree that I, Scarlettfire, don't own the fantabulous X-Men.**

* * *

Chapter five (Scare the guards, steal the city)

Sarah knocked at her door. Lexa opened her eyes. "Lexa, I need to see you in my room." Sarah said through the door. Lexa swung her legs off her bed and stood. She waited for Sarah's footsteps to signal her retreat before she allowed herself to go to the door.

Last night they had decided they wanted Sarah to live. A night of sleep hadn't changed that decision. Lexa knocked at Sarah's door. She was supposed to do that whenever entering a private room.

"Come in." Sarah said with an air of victory. She'd managed to teach the wild girl manners. Lexa opened the door. "We're doing something new today. We're going outside."

"Outside?"

"Yes. I'm taking you shopping. The mall, um, place where there's a lot of stores that you can buy things in. Buy means to exchange money for an item. Anyway. I figured the mall would be a perfect place to start. There's a lot of people in some places and nearly none in others. Also, you need more clothes." Sarah explained. "You need different ones to go out too. Those are so stained."

Lexa looked down at her clothes. A huge red spot was on the blue shirt. She'd spurted ketchup on herself, and the rest of the kitchen, when she couldn't figure out how to open the bottle. She'd ripped it open with her claws. The spot was clean now, but it was still there, two months later.

At first, they had refused to change clothes. They weren't used to it. Finally Sarah had convinced them to change so she could at least wash one set at a time. Now, they changed everyday, switching between the two outfits they had.

"I picked some things out for you. It'll give me an idea what size you are too." She handed Lexa a black shirt and blue pants. Jeans. Lexa's other pair of clothing had jeans in it. Lexa put the clothes on. "These are shoes. You haven't needed them yet." Sarah held up a pair. They were black. Lexa knew what shoes were, just not the name until today.

Sarah helped her put them on.

"Alright, your good to go." Sarah smiled. Lexa stood, the shoes were too tight. "Now. You remember that door in the kitchen you asked me about last week. Well, it leads to outside. There will be a little hall and I'll push a button on the wall." Sarah said, leading Lexa toward the kitchen. "The buttons call the elevator. An elevator is a box that brings people to different floors in a building. Two arrows are on the wall. The up arrow makes the elevator go up when you get in and the down arrow makes the elevator go down. In the elevator there's more buttons. They're the different floors. You push the button of the number you want. The elevator will either take you there directly, or will stop on the way to pick up more people."

Sarah opened the door in the kitchen and they went out into the small hall. Sarah hit the down button. They waited until the wall opened. Sarah pulled Lexa into the box and hit a button that said 1 on it. Above the door that was a wall there was a little screen that told the floor they were on. when the screen said 1, they got out.

Lexa recognized the white, bare walls of the lab. They were still here. At the base. Sarah didn't stop walking, she pulled Lexa down one empty white hallway. It opened on a red and brown room with touches of gold. Sarah kept walking to a glass door. She pulled Lexa through it. She was assaulted first with the smells. Like the colour shock of that first day, Lexa was overwhelmed. This however was different. The jumble of scents quickly separated themselves. Lexa had spent her entire life depending on her sense of smell when her other senses failed to supply her with anything useful. Before Sarah even realized something was different, Lexa's confusion was gone.

"Remember all those car commercials? Well you get to ride in one today." Sarah said and they were in something Lexa knew was called a parking lot. She stopped in front of an orange car. She opened the door. "Get in."

Lexa did. "Sarah? I've just realized something."

"What?" Turning a key and making the car come to life. It startled Lexa slightly but she quickly recovered.

"Where are we? In the world in mean." Lexa asked.

"Canada, but that's all I can tell you." Sarah's voice was regretful.

"Why?" Lexa questioned, but she could guess the answer.

"Because they don't want you to know more. I'm sorry." Lexa didn't respond. Soon. Soon she would kill them. Leave Sarah. "Feel free to figure out the radio. You'll probably be able to work it better than me by the time we get there."

Lexa looked at the radio. She had no idea how to work it Yet, she'd had no idea how to work the tv either. now she was tech-support as Sarah called it. In no time, Lexa could adjust the volume, change the station, switch between radio and cd and work the 5 disc CD changer.

She picked something on the radio that was bouncy. "This is French you know." Sarah said.

"What's French?"

"Another language. Things have different names when in another language. Like, in french, a book is un livre. Merci means thank you and bonjour means hello. Things like that." Sarah explained.

"Oh. Do you understand French then?"

"No. Do you?" Sarah asked suspicious.

"I know what they're saying on the radio." Lexa answers.

"That's odd. But when have you ever been normal." Sarah said more to herself than anyone else. The song had ended and another one started before she spoke again. "We're here. The mall." Sarah got out of the car and so did Lexa. She hit a button and the car beeped. Lexa tried not to look startled. "Come on." Sarah walked toward a building. It was huge. A tan colour with writing in different colours on it. Nearly every section of writing was over glass doors. The words themselves were big.

They went up to one set of doors, the closest. They went in. The flood of people Lexa was expecting, wasn't there. Instead all she could see was an old lady in bright pink and a balding man with a green jacket.

"The first things you need are undergarments." Sarah said. She walked down a path made of white and gray speckled tiles that wove through the dark grey industrial carpet. She stopped at a rack of strange looking contraptions. She picked out a few and then pulled Lexa into a room she called a fitting room. She showed her how to put on the contraption. When she was satisfied with the way one fit, she had Lexa take it off and give it back. Lexa put her black shirt back on. Sarah went back out and picked out a few more contraptions, but these Lexa didn't have to put on.

"I'm going to be right back. Stay there." Sarah said. _**She trusts us.** She does._Then they smelt something. It was a vaguely familiar scent. It had reached their nose before.

They hadn't yet identified it when Sarah was back. "It's called a bra." Sarah explained and handed her a contraption. "Go put it on and leave it on." Lexa did as told. She put the shirt on over it. It was tighter around her breasts now.

Sarah brought her down the tile path again. As they went farther, the noise got louder. They saw more people. Then they weren't in the same place as before. This place looked like a huge, crowded, hallway. Everything was a white speckled gray that glowed a faint blue. There were people everywhere. "Don't panic. Stay calm. Breath, remember what I taught you." Lexa kept her eyes down, her gaze focused on her too tight shoes covered by her too long pants.

Sarah ducked into the first store she saw, or maybe it wasn't the first store, Lexa couldn't tell. Near silence met her ears. Broken only by the soft beat from ceiling.Lexa looked up. Everything was black. Nearly. "I noticed how you like it." Sarah explained. "Pick anything you want." Lexa looked around. Her gaze was drawn to something on a rack above. It looked like a square. "It's a tube top. A shirt."

"It has nothing for arms." Lexa commented.

"Exactly. That's the style." Sarah picked on and held it up to Lexa's front. She picked another one and did the same. She was satisfied with this one. "Come on." She brought Lexa to the back of the little room. A girl with pink and purple hair blew something from her mouth that looked like a pink circle. It popped.

"Can I help you?" The pink and puruple haired girl said.

"Ring this up please." Sarah said. Lexa watched as the girl held something to a little tag. It beeped. Then she turned to the computer looking thing, hit a few buttons and said some numbers. Sarah handed her a plasic card. The girl slid it through a slot and handed it back. She waited for the computer thing to spit out paper. She handed a little bit of the paper to Sarah, who wrote on it and handed it back. She got the shirt in a bag with the bigger piece of paper.

They left the store and went back to the huge hall. They people weren't so shocking this time. Lexa knew they would be there, she also was curious as to what Sarah just did. She asked. Sarah explained.

All day Sarah dragged Lexa though the mall. It wasn't long before Lexa was used to the people around her. Sarah bought her shoes, socks, shirts, pants, underwear, bras, a hairbrush, scrunchies, and little bits of jewelery. She brought Lexa to one last place.

She stopped in front of various jars in different colours and boxes with women on them. All the women had different colour hair. "Pick a colour." Sarah said. "I'll dye it when we get home."

_**Black.** Blue._

"Can I have two?" Lexa asked remembering the girl with pink and purple hair. She picked up a blue and a black jar.

"Sure." Sarah said. "Here, I'll pay for these, you can look around. See if you want anything else." Sarah took the jars from Lexa and went to the front. Immediately after she was gone, Lexa smelt it. The same as before. She looked around like she was looking at the shelves. There. It was him. She'd seen him before today. She hadn't put to much notice into him because he ws far away and it wasn't the only time she'd seen the same people over again. This was different. He was closer. She recognized him. He was the new guard that had taken her from her cell. She knew instantly why he was here. To guard her, make sure she didn't escape.

He looked up at her. Lexa looked past him. There were boxes there. She walked toward the boxes, and him. He walked normally, but it was still clear that he was trying to get out of her way, to hide from her. She was faster than him. She stopped outside the aisle he had fled down. "Thought it was something else." Lexa said. She put regret in her voice and tried to make it sound like she didn't know anyone else was there.

She looked around again, pretending to look for whatever she thought the boxes had been. He was pretending to be fascinated with notebooksand pens.

"There it is." She exclaimed and bounced up beside him. He couldn't really flinch away. He wasn't supposed to know who she was. Lexa reached for a folder that was beside a notebook. "Oh hello." She said in her happiest voice. The kind she'd heard an actress on TV use.

"Hello." He said. He looked at her. Lexa knew manners made him do it. He had to keep up the charade, didn't he?

"I'm Lexa Kinney. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand like the people on tv had when they met a new person._** What exactly are you doing?** I'm scaring him.** Oh. Good.**_

"Nice to meet you too." He said in a voice that was slightly shaky. He reluctantly took her hand and shook it quickly then he dropped it.

"What's your name? Everyone's been so busy today. I haven't gotten to talk to anybody but my mom today. She's such a bore sometimes." Lexa internally praised her fascination with teen shows. This was easier than she thought.

"Um."

"Oh come on. It's not like I'll bite. I just love meeting new people." Lexa continued.

"Garret Kenzington." He said it so reluctantly even a person with normal hearing would have heard it.

Lexa pretended like she didn't. "Well, hello Garret." She smiled at him, allowing only a small bit of malice to thread through it. "So, what're you getting today?" She asked, staying near him. She even leaned across him to grab a pen.

He flinched only slightly. "Notebook." He said.

"Oh. Well then." Lexa sighed. "I got everything I need. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." Lexa said and bounded away. A smirk was on her face. His scent was filled with fear and confusion. _That was fun. **Very**._


	6. One Week

**Broken**

**AN: I was listening to 'One Week' when I named it, but that's the only thing they have in common. I swear.  
(Reviews, please. :begs:)**

**Disclaimer: Sulking again.**

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Chapter six (One Week)

"It stinks."

"That's the price of beauty. Pain and stench." Sarah said as she applied more hair colour. They'd decided to mix the blue and the black. Now it was this sort of bruise colour. Perfect for the teen.

"Who made that up?" Lexa asks attempting to not breathe.

"I'd say men, cause everything in general is their fault, but this one was a women thing." Sarah answers. Opening a window hadn't helped much, the stench burned both of their noses.

"Huh?" Lexa continued, distracting herself.

"Never mind. I thought of a way to pin this on men. It's their fault. They want us to look a certain way, and we slave to make ourselves match their criteria. That was when they controlled us. Now it's just part of the female make up."

"Sarah you make no sense." Lexa complained.

"I've told you before. Most things in life that make no sense are because of men." Sarah gave up trying to breathe normally and started breathing through her mouth.

"Stupid men."

"Good girl." Sarah open mouth smiled.

"Are you almost done? It stinks." Lexa asks.

"Almost. Lean your head forward." Sarah answers. "God, if we ever do this again, it's outside. I never knew it could stink this much. Besides I think my counter is permanently stained."

Lexa sighed, then regretted it. A fresh wave of hair dye stink filled her nose. _**Never again.** I can deal with that._

* * *

"Come on, anything?" Sarah asked.

"We've gone shopping everyday this week. No nothing." Laura said. She pretty much new everything thing in every store.

"Your no fun." Sarah laughed.

"Shut up." Laura smiled.

* * *

_Sarah says we look pretty._

**_Maybe the stink was worth it._**

_Maybe. It does look cool._

**_Maybe we should cut it._**

_Why?_

**_It'll get in the way when we fight the bastards._**

_Yeah, you're right. One of our trainers mentioned that._

**_No, he didn't mention it. He grapped our hair._**

_Oh, yeah. Well your the one who was out most of the time._

**_So what do you do when I'm out?_**

_Sleep usually. _

**_Me too._**

_Ah well._

**_Yeah._**

_Let's cut it._

**_I'll ask Sarah._**

* * *

"A hair cut. That's what you decide on?" Sarah sounds incredulous.

"Yes." Laura answers.

"I didn't even know you knew what one was." Sarah stares at her, still surprised.

"Well, I do. And I want one." Laura says frankly.

"What do you say?" She's looking for the manners she taught her daughter.

"Can I have a haircut please Sarah?" Laura says perfectly polite.

"Sure. Like I've told you. You'll catch more bees with honey that vinegar. Be polite instead of rude." Sarah nods approval. She looks around the mall in an unneeded geture to get her barrings. "Come on." She says and leads her daughter toward a hair salon. This is a new test. Having other people touch her.

* * *

They decide on a hair style. A bob Sarah says. It's short and will keep her hair out of an oppointes grasp. It's perfect. Sarah made the oppointment for the next day. It's been two months since she first started to interact with other people. It's easy now. They don't look at her so oddly now.

This is both good and bad. It means Sarah was a good trainer and that she really could be around people. It also meant that Sarah's job was coming to a close. Which meant that she wouldn't be need much longer.

Soon they would have to kill them. Lexa smiled, for both of her selves.

* * *

"Hey. Funny to see you again." Laura smiled happily. Sarah was in the bathroom. Garret was sitting at a table in the food court. _Time to freak the guard out again.** I love doing this.**_"Wow, I think I see you the most out of anybody else I met here. Weird right?" Laura plopped herself down across from the guard.

This was the fourth time she'd 'run' into him. She picked a french fry off his plate. He followed them faithfully. It was always him. He even bought lunch at the same place as them. She smiled at him. He had gotten over the visible shaking but she could still smell his fear.

"How's it going?" Laura asked innocently.

"Fine." Garret answered. One word answers were his specialty.

"I'm doing great. School's still closed. The stupid plumbing. They're sending us homework in the mail. My mom makes me do it, but it's so much easier without those crazy teachers blabbing at me. I never understand what they say. Also, the foods so much better at home." Laura said. The second time she'd 'met' him, he'd asked in an obvious attempt to get rid of her why she wasn't in school. She'd made up some lie about the plumbing backing up and how the entire first floor of the building was flooded.

"Nice." Garret said, uncomfortable. She'd been nothing but sweet and bubbly to him, and she knew it freaked him out, considering all he heard about her. Also the fact that he'd been the one that dragged her to Sarah's completely covered in her last trainer's dried blood helped add to the fear factor.

"Anyway. I'm here with my mom again. She loves shopping, and since she works at the school, she's got the free time. You here with anyone?" Laura asked, bubbly to the extreme.

"No." He answered.

"Oh. Well. Sorry. Hey, lighten up. You're always so down when I see you." Laura chirped. _**I'm actually starting to disgust myself.** Me too. Hurry it up._ "Huh. Oh. That's my phone. I gotta go. See ya. Oh, and don't worry, be happy." Laura hopped up and headed to wait for Sarah somewhere outside the bathroom. She was just coming out when she got there.

"Hey. You go anywhere?" Sarah asked.

"No. Just smelled you coming is all."

"Ah, okay. Let's go." Sarah said.

* * *

"It looks great. Your beautiful." Sarah said when she saw the haircut. It had been uncomfortable to let someone they didn't know touch her head, but Sarah said it was necessary, so they let it happen.

Now in the car on the way back, something came to Lexa's mind.

"Do I look like Weapon X? I am his clone, but I have your eyes and I had your hair." Lexa asks.

"You do. I've only seen a few pictures of him, but I promise, you do. You may have my eyes, my hair and my height, but that's it. They rest is all him." Sarah explained.

"Can I see a picture?" Lexa asked.

"Sure."

* * *

_**We do look like him.**_

_We have his face._

**_And his build._**

_We're just tall._

**_It stretches, it doesn't look the same._**

_But it does too._

**_Strange._**

_I wonder if we smell the same._

**_Probably._**

_Maybe once we kill the company and we're free we can find him. _

**_Yeah. It'd be cool to fight him._**

_Wanna see whose better?_

**_Of course. The clone or the original._**

_I wanna see if we act like him._

**_Sure._**

_No need to be condescending._

**_You're the sweet one Lexa. I'm the mean one._**

_You're not that mean, and I'm not that sweet. I just don't want to fight every four seconds._

**_Fair. _**

_Exactly._


	7. Pain For One And Death For All

**Broken**

**AN: So **underline** voice, is X-23 for anyone who gets confused. And evil Stephen is back.**

**Disclaimer: Apparently swearing is bad, because I still don't own X-Men. Who knew? (shrug)**

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Chapter seven (Pain for one and death for all)

"How is it coming along?" Stephen asked Garret.

"She's, strange." He answered, uncomfortable. He thought about the girl he'd been assigned to follow. He didn't see a killer in her. No, scratch that, he could. He remembered the first time he ever saw Lexa. Lexa, he wondered vaguely when she had morphed into Lexa in his mind.

No, when he looked at her he saw someone broken, trying to make herself whole. "She's comfortable with humans now." he said finally. In truth she'd been ready for weeks, he just didn't want Stephen to know that.

"Sarah says it's still not." Stephen said, stating a fact. He wouldn't listen to Sarah, she was too attached.

"Why have you kept Sarah?" Garret asked.

"She's the only one it wouldn't kill." Stephen said simply. "I noticed it a long time ago." He placed his skinny, weak looking hands on his desk. He glowed white in the dark of his office. He meant to be intimidating. "Why do you care boy?"

"Just wondering, she's emotionally attached, seemed like a conflict of interest." Garret said to cover himself. In truth, he wondered what she was needed for because once she'd performed her task, she would be killed.

"It is." Stephen answered smugly. "Now, boy. Is it under control. Will it take orders?"

"What sort of orders?" Garret said. He knew Lexa wouldn't take Stephen's orders, she never would. Still, he had to see what she would be told to do.

"No matter boy. Answer the question." Stephen barked.

"Sir, she might take certain orders, I can't make an assessment without knowing what I'm assessing." Garret answered.

"Fine." Stephen said reluctantly. The little whelp was lucky he was family, step-son of his sister, otherwise he would have killed him by now. The cheeky bastard. "It's sole mission will be to kill Charles Xavier and all his monstrous X-Men."

Garret froze. He knew those names. They were mutants. Protectors of a humanity that despised them. Lexa, her entire miserable life was generated to kill them? No, that can't be right.

"Oh, make no mistake. It was designed of the strongest mutant we could get our hands on. It was made to do our bidding. That monster is to be the killer of monsters. It will rid our earth of those unholy abominations, then be killed itself." Stephen said, his mouth curving into a smirk, his eyes glowing with excitement. "Now boy. Will it take the order?"

No. Garret thought. "Yes." he said. Lexa wouldn't ever do that. Commit genocide.

"Good." Stephen smiled. He pushed a button on the phone on his desk. "It's time." He said into the speaker. 'Alrgiht sir.' A voice came through the phone. "Now scram boy."

"Yes sir." Garret said, still shocked. He'd sentenced Sarah to death, her task was now complete, but he'd also done something else. She would break again, the crack in herself would widen, but she would hold together enough. Enough to stop them.

Garret burst into a run the second his step-uncle's office door closed. It wasn't safe here, not right now. Later he'd come back and pick up the pieces, but now, now he had to run.

* * *

Kill, kill. They must die. I must kill.

_Sarah, they, they . . . _

**_She's dead._**

Kill, kill. They must die. I must kill.

**_Even if I could, I wouldn't stop her._**

_Neither would I. They killed her._

Kill, kill. They must die. I must kill.

_Our mother. _

**_X-23 will make them pay. They pay with their lives._**

_Their worthless insignificant lives._

**_They showed us no mercy or compassion. She will show them the same._**

Kill, kill. They must die. I must kill.

_We have to sleep._

**_We weaken her when we don't._**

Kill, kill. They must die. I must kill.

* * *

X-23 snarled, foam and spit spilling from her open mouth. She didn't care. She was only here to kill. She only wanted blood. She stopped, sniffed the air. Fear. She heard the racing of many hearts. They couldn't control her. She wouldn't be controlled.

She approached a door. Behind it hearts pounded out a homing signal. She ripped a hole in the door with her claws. The first one in the room didn't have time to scream, she was dead so fast. The others, they had more time. They saw the slaughter of one of their own.

They had tranquilizers. X-23 was to fast for them. They were all dead before they could shot. More, she knew there were more people she could kill. Where?

She would find them. She would kill them all.

X-23 stalked down the depressing white halls, intent on her murderous mission. A dripping of red marking her death trail. Nothing would stand in her way. There wasn't a chance she would be satisfied until everyone in this building was dead, until everyone who had ever wronged her was covered in their own blood.

A scent hit her nose. Familiar. Stephen West. His name floated before her mind before it was lost to blood lust.

Another door. The scent was behind it. A heart beat thumped it's final chorus. X-23 ripped down the door, taking most of the sickening white wall with it.

The dark room was full of smoke.

"You'll not kill me monster." Stephen's voice muttered. X-23 turned her body to him. He stood in the corner, something long and gleaming metal in his hand. A sword. Useless. X-23 didn't answer him with words, she merely cocked her head and took a step forward. His heart beat increased. The cloying scent of fear grew stronger.

A laugh escaped her lips. She flung herself at him, claws extended. Stephen raised the sword. He was quick, but it wouldn't save him. The sword cut like butter under X-23's claws. The momentum sent the claws scraping down his front, half through him. He coughed, blood came out.

More, more, more. They must all die. She could still smell fear, hear hearts. They all must end, they all must cease. Deafening, they rang in chaos, refusing to beat as one even in their death. Forever divided, they would be reunited in the halls of hell. She would send them there. Later to join them, to torture and kill once more.

She was completely red by the time she could smell no more fear, hear no more ending heart beats.

Exhausted, X-23 gave in to her beloved sleep. Her deed was done. For now she could leave, rest until she could wake to kill again.

Lexa and Laura took over. The tiredness that had overcome X-23 still strong in their body. One and the same and three separate. A monster of monsters. Only combining their strength could they get themself to Sarah's apartment. Her ruined, wrecked apartment where her blood and body still lay.

Tomorrow, tomorrow they would deal with her. For now, they needed rest. They smelled blood, so strong they smelled nothing else. In a twisted way only they knew made sense, they were comforted by this. It would help them sleep sounder.


	8. A Cracked Dream Without A Silver Lining

**Broken**

**AN: I'm hyper. (At the time I wrote this I was.) abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz (i can say that as a word, cause I'm special like that)**

**Disclaimer: Claiming to own things you don't is wrong. It's like, illegal or something.**

**CaptMacKenzie: Whoa, first. Long review. Second. I reread my chapters (and apart from some sp errors, srry everyone) I don't see what you mean. I'll be happy to fix it if you could tell me which chapter. I'm a bit biased. (it's my ego again)**

* * *

Chapter eight (A cracked dream without a silver lining)

He found her asleep. He hadn't been expecting that. She looked so peaceful, despite the reddish-brown that stained her. She lay in a black and baby blue room. It was hers, it was so obvious that it was hers. The walls were bare, everything was barren. it should have looked like no one lived in it, but it didn't. She gave it life, gave it a life that was as empty as her own.

He'd have to move her. It wasn't safe here for her. Stephen West, the man who thought he was so far up, so much in charge. He wasn't. He ran this one small base in the nowhere-ness of Canada. True he had the most powerful weapon ever chanced upon at the company, but his superiors, for he did have them, they didn't know the true extent of the teens power. They thought her near harmless, a science experiment bound to cause nothing but frustration.

He knew better. He'd always known better. He always knew what a person was, their strengths, their weaknesses. He could see it all, but he could never tell. It was part of him. It was invisible, not a mark or a extra feature. He was perfectly ordinary. From the outside.

Inside he was not. His blood ran with the knowledge of what each person was. What they could and couldn't do. His secret, his curse, his gift. His mutation.

That's why Garret had to help her so badly. He could see her like no one else could. He'd ignored it the first time he'd ever seen her. It's why he was so quick to drop her in that cart. It didn't help, he'd still seen her.

He saw her broken and shattered, while others only saw a project, something to poke and prod at until it does something they didn't expect. Then there was Sarah. the poor woman, she was so cracked herself. She couldn't see past her own breaks, couldn't see the fissures in her daughter, her flesh. Instead, she saw a girl she in turns loved and feared. She loved the flesh, was terrified of the things it could do. Loved the mind, shied away from what it might think.

No, not even her own mother had truly loved her. She was too afraid of her. Too far away. He would be there for her, because he had too. He couldn't fix her, but he could help her find the one who could.

She needed to be whole, she was too unstable. He saw her three parts. A killer, a fighter, a lover. They were one and three. So mixed up they were separate.

Garret sighed. He gentle put his hand on her dirty back. Nothing. He rocked her, again gently. Still nothing.

He rolled her over and put his arms under her shoulders and knees. She weighed no more than she had last time he carried her. She was also just as blood soaked, more now actually.

So many dead. He'd had to let them die. Only one had he saved. The doorman. He hadn't known any better. He just thought she was some new guys kid. Stephen had never seen it as necessary to inform him of what really went on. The doorman was no idiot, but he'd learned not to pry, to forget whatever he thought he'd seen.

Garret had left his car door open, no use closing it, everyone was dead. He placed her in the seat and closed the door. He got in himself and drove to his apartment. If she didnt' kill him immediately after she woke up, he'd talk to her.

While he drove he thought of the times he'd spoken with her. She'd been bubbly and fake, like a teen sitcom or after-school special. They'd both known that the other known what was really going on. Yet neither could say it. So he'd just acted the part of nice stranger.

But he'd watched her. He knew her better from his observations than anything she had said to him. She was insane, but she knew it, tried to deal with it, hide it. He'd watched her take turns in personality. One time she had run into a girl. She'd helped the girl up and even picked up all the girls bags. Another time she had been in a store separated from Sarah, she'd shied away from every person even remotely near her. When one ventured to close, she snapped at them. Annoyed.

He'd watched her, avoided her, but she'd still seek him out. He'd not gotten over his fear of what she could do, not then.

Now, now he was. Somehow, with her asleep in his car beside him, after knowing she's killed so many, he can't be afraid of her.

She's broken and more than a little devastated. This could tear apart the healing she'd started. Losing Sarah. The only one that had ever seemed to care about her.

She was strong in every sense but one. Her mind was weak. To shattered to be healthy.

Garret could think of only one person who could help her. He was so far away, but he'd take her there if he had to drug her.

Westchester. It would be a long drive. And a lot of drugs.

* * *

**_We've been moved._**

_I know Laura. I can feel it._

**_Do you smell anything?_**

_You'd know if I did. And no._

**_Jeez, Lexa. No need to be snappy._**

_. . ._

**_Too much blood, I get it._**

_Cause you don't smell anything either._

**_We should have at least washed our face before we collapsed._**

_Funny, I didn't hear you mention it when we hobbled around._

**_Oh, shut up. Your making me the nice one. I'm sorry, okay._**

_Me too. Anyway. Who do you think moved us?_

**_Um, didn't X-23 kill everyone._**

_Well, yeah. That's why she let go._

**_Then who's moving us?!_**

_Calm down. We'll find out once the body wakes up._

**_Control?_**

_You had it before, before, . . . _

**_Before we left our bedroom to find Sarah dead and bleeding while some crap bag stood over her._**

_No need to be graphic._

**_Nowhere near graphic baby._**

_Oh shut up Laura. All I was saying was that, I don't think we need . . . _

**_Shh, shut up shut up. Feel that?_**

_The body's waking up._

**_So who?_**

_Um, you do it. I'm worse with people._

**_You are, we always confused Sarah._**

_Shh, too soon._

**_Don't cry._**

_Right back at you, bub._

**_I'll try._**

* * *

They opened their eyes to a strange place they'd never been before. They were staring at the ceiling, it was white, with a huge white fan.

Laura sat up, ignoring the faint feeling the blood rushing down gave her. Around her was all white, but not the clinical hospital white the lab had been. This was white like the person living here wasn't settled in. Or like they couldn't pick a colour.

"Hey, your up." A voice she knew said. Laura turned to see Garret. "Well, cat's outta the bag now huh? I know what you are and you know I had to guard you. Simply really." He said with fake cheer.

"You washed my face." Laura says, cause she noticed that she can smell things.

"A little, it can't be pleasant to smell blood continuously." He said.

"It's not." Laura said. Somehow, she was perfectly calm. She even felt like she could be a little bubbly. Maybe it was the sight of him. She was so used to being bubbly around him, it was actually a little hard not to bounce and twirl.

"You want to get cleaned up?" he asks. Laura just nods. "Bathroom's that way. First door on the left. Oh, and here's your bag." He hands her a backpack Sarah had bought her. "I filled it with some of your clean clothes." He answered before she could ask. Laura just nods, takes the bag, and heads off to the bathroom.

"Weird." She whispers under her breath. Still, she can't help but be happy. A minute ago she was heartbroken, now she was giddy. Maybe they were more messed up than they'd thought. It was actually a scary thought.


	9. Driving Along In My Automobile

**Broken**

**AN: The chapter title is actually a song. Weird.**

**Disclaimer: Scarlettfire equal No Owning of X-men and their awetasticness.**

**CaptMacKenzie: I'm sorry I've confused you. In chapter two, they were addressing each other. I wasn't saying who was who. Also, while they assign a sweet and mean role to each other, neither is completely that. It's hard and confusing to try and explain. I'm sorry for that. (They're just one weird, jumbled up, mussed package. They even confuse themselves)**

* * *

Chapter nine (Driving along in my automobile)

"Your clean." Garret announces when she walks back in the room. He's sitting in this chair that is so ugly it should be destroyed. Laura takes a seat on the equally ugly sofa across from him. The room was mismatched and horrible. The white walls were the background for the flowered pink and yellow sofa, the brown-grey chair, a tacky glass table, black TV on a too large rolling desk. Boxes were piled in the corners and every other available space. What wasn't covered by boxes or ghastly furniture, was dirty and stained. The floor was so covered with newspapers and other things it was impossible to tell what colour it was, let alone if it was carpet or hard-floor.

"Yup." Laura answers. The shower calmed her down. The hot water slowly turning cold as she scrubbed herself clean. Now she was numb, her emotions had taken a vacation. Somehow it didn't surprise her. She was so screwed up, nothing was strange anymore.

"So, any questions?" Garret asks. He was waiting.

"Yeah, actually." Laura had been thinking about it in the shower. "Why am I here? Why did you move me?"

"It wasn't safe for you to stay there. What do you think you would have done if you woke up there, covered in blood with her dead outside the door?" Garret challenges. Laura doesn't answer. They both know the answer to that one. "As to why I took you here, only place I could think of."

"Why?" Laura asks after being quite for a while.

"Why, what?" He teases, not quite sure why.

"Why did you do anything at all?" Laura needs to know.

"Not that I think you'll believe me, but I want to help you." he says all casual, like he's ordering an ice cream cone.

"Your right, I don't believe you." Laura tells him.

"Either way, I'm taking you to Westchester." He says. Laura just stares at him from the flowered pink and yellow sofa sofa. "There's someone there you'll want to meet." Garret continues. "James Howlett, better known as Logan or Wolverine. Most likely known to you as Weapon X, the man you are cloned from."

"You know where he is?" Laura completely forgets that she's supposed to be indignant. They'd always wondered what Logan was like.

"And I can take you too him. Just come with me." Garret stares at her, dropping all the light and fluffy casualness he'd been infecting his voice with. His tone was nothing but serious now. "You'll wonder why I do this. I'm not going to tell you. I'm not completely sure myself. I just know I have to get you there.

"Also," The casual air laced his tone once again, "I really want to see you meet him." Garret laughs.

Laura scowls at him. "You can't make me do anything." She informs him.

"You just go on thinking that." He tells her, smiling.

* * *

_We're so tired._

**_Why? We haven't done anything. _**

_Our body is healed from X-23's exertion._

**_I know. We shouldn't be tired._**

_We shouldn't be this easy to manipulate either._

**_What's with us?_**

_All we know about him is that he guarded us when there was still a lab. _

**_Yet we still let him put us in a car and start driving us across country._**

_Without trying to kill him once too._

**_Why are we so out of whack?_**

_I don't know. How should I know? You hear my thoughts, you'd know what I think._

**_I know, still._**

_Still what?_

**_I don't know. I'm just tired and confused._**

_Same here. I hate this._

**_I know._**

* * *

Lexa opened her eyes to see more of the same passing her by. The scenery never seemed to change. Everything was dull and flat. Occasionally the road would go up a hill or trees would stray near it. Lexa turned to the radio. Garret was driving, sipping out of a cup. The cup was filled with the vile smelling coffee, the only thing that helped the smell was the sugar Garret dumped into it by the packet-full. She turned the dial until something came on that matched her mood.

"French? Do you understand this?" Garret asks.

"Yes." Lexa said, feeling deja vu.

"Interesting. Wonder why that is." Garret said. Then he was quite again as one song blended into the next and the next until it put her back to sleep.

* * *

"How can you drive so much? Your a normal human, even I get tired." Lexa asked him later.

"I don't. Your just always asleep when I stop. Your not very stimulating company." He told her.

"Oh." Lexa said. She turned away from him and back to the window. It seemed the same things were going by as the last time she looked out it. She looked back at Garret.

He was pale, with a lot of freckles. Lexa had some on her shoulders, Sarah had said that her mother called them angel kisses. His hair was straggly, like he never cut or brushed it properly. It was a washed out kind of brown-blond. His clothes were sloppy, his shirt mis-buttoned near the bottom. Overall he looked so messy it was impossible to tell if he actually realized how bad it was. Anyone that bad would surely fix themselves, right?

"What?" he asks.

"What, what?" Lexa returns.

"Your staring at me." he says.

"I don't know you." Lexa answers. "Your a slob by the way." Lexa only heard him gasp, only felt his stare burn a hole in her back. She was staring out the window again.

* * *

He'd noticably tried to fix himself up. His shirt was buttoned the right way and his hair was less straggly. His car was a little cleaner too, all the cups and wrappers were gone.

"Better." Laura told him.

"What?" She was starting to get tired of that word.

"Your better now." Laura explains.

"I don't appreciate being called a slob by a teenager thank you." He said.

"How old are you anyway?" Laura asks suddenly.

"29. Why?"

"Just curious."

* * *

"We're gonna get there tomorrow." Garret says while changing lanes. The scenery still hasn't changed much. She wonders how he can even tell. "Just so you know."

"Okay." She says. She closes her eyes and they don't open again.


	10. Memories Shine In The Dark

**Broken**

**AN: Okay, now my chapter titles are just getting random.**

**Disclaimer: I'll just go stand on a really tall building and shout it. I don't own X-Men. (But I want too.)**

**Proud to be an X-Nerd: _Bold Italic-_** Laura _Regualr Italic-_ Lexa

* * *

Chapter ten (Memories shine in the dark)

"Hi." She said it like she was happy. No one was ever happy to see them. She didn't answer. Sarah. How come she could have a name and they couldn't. She was old enough to have a name right? She didn't mention it. "Um, so, Stephen said that you've killed your trainer."

"Yes." She answered. That woman. For five years she'd tortured her. Lila Mecoon. Another named person. It was Lila's fault they were a they. Before Lila they'd been one. Now it was the two of them. 1 and 2, it's all they had. They knew numbers. Sarah had taught them those when they were still little. Lila had too, in a very different way.

"That's not a good thing." Sarah said. She ignored her. She smelled like blood and it was uncomfortable. "Do you hear me?"

"Go away." She told the woman. Sarah looked like someone had punched her. She left anyway. Now it was quiet, she liked quiet. In the silence she could hear her heart. Th-thump, th-thump. She liked it when her heart beat out it's calm steady rhythm. When it raced, after she'd trained with Lila, or if she was angry, it wasn't the same. Th-thump, th-thump. That was her rhythm, her special rhythm.

Everyone had a special heart rhythm. It was her job to stop that rhythm. Lila had always told her she was to be a killer, so she had done it. She'd killed her trainer. There wasn't even anything special about this day. Lila had gotten her up early and made her run. Then she had to practice with bombs again. Lila had been hanging over her shoulder. Yelling at her and whipping her like she usually did.

She'd gotten fed up, she'd just lashed out. Her claws extended for the first time voluntarily. It was the first time she'd ever made them come out. Only the second time they'd seen the outside of her arm. They were flashy and almost white. Lila had been skewered, dead before she hit the ground. She'd stood over the dead trainer, the scent of blood so strong, and felt nothing.

* * *

Lexa opened her eyes, waking up from her dream. _I'd nearly forgotten that. **Me too.**_ They thought. It hadn't been a dream so much as a memory.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty. We're here." Garret says, drawing her attention away from herselves.

"We are?" She asks.

"Yeah. What, were you expecting guns and whistles?" He teased. "They probably don't even know we're here. Though that'll probably change in a minute or two."

They were at an old metal gate. Despite it's old appearance, it was clearly sturdy. Lexa got out of the car, stretched her tired legs. Not once had she gotten out of the car. Somehow, she'd managed to sleep most of the way. The gate was surrounded by trees that completely covered any view past them.

Garret had also got out of the car. He went to the gate and found something by the end of one. He pushed something and spoke. "Hello?"

A bit later a voice answered back. "Yes?"

"Um, my name's Garret Kenzington, I was wondering if this was the home of Charles Xavier." Garret asks. Lexa, despite her confusion, says nothing.

"It is. How can I help you?"

"Um, well, see, I have something I need to speak with him about. May I be let in?" Garret asks of the voice.

"You may." The voice answers and the gate buzzes and then begins to open.

"Alright Lexa, back in the car." Garret says and returns to the drivers seat. Once Lexa is seated and the gate is open enough, they drive through.

* * *

She sat on the ground, the only place to sit. They'd wanted to clean the room of blood. So they'd drugged her. They didn't realize that she was still conscious, that all it ever did was stop her body. Now it was wearing off.

_One, do you remember how we made them come out?_

**_No, just that we were angry._**

_Not angry, frustrated._

**_Whatever. It's my turn._**

She opened her eyes, finally able to control that part of her body. _Try to move._ **_Well, duh. I'm not stupid._** One made to move her hand, nothing yet. She waited as feeling slowly started to enter various parts of her body. Finally her hands were free. She felt one wrist, to try and feel the claws. As always, there was nothing. _We've never made them come out. **I didn't know we could make them. **Maybe we need to get angry again. **Maybe we should, no, I have an idea. **It'll hurt. You'll feel it, your out. **It's alright, pain is nothing. **_

One tore at her arm with her fingernails, her teeth, anything she could think of. She had to be quick, she would heal if she wasn't. Her teeth worked best she found. Then she saw them, gleaming metallic in her arm. She pushed at one with her finger. It bolted, slamming out of the space between her first two fingers. She pushed the other one quickly, before her arm was healed enough to cover it up. It bolted out too.

This time, she felt it, felt the movement of the claws. How they slid across her bones and sliced open her skin. The tiny catch that made them stay, that stopped them from shooting out of her arm. It was subtle. She would never have noticed it another way. Somehow, she knew she couldn't rely on anger to make this part of her work.

_It's us. **It would be wrong to make it work that way.** I don't know why. **I don't either Two. **Maybe, it's like our healing. It's supposed to be something our body just does. **Yeah. Just this, we have a little control over. **They're ours._

Without conscious thought, One removed the catch that held her claws. Their forward movement had been stopped, they wouldn't fly away from her. Noiselessly, even to her ears, they slid back into her arm.

For the rest of the day, One practiced making her claws come out and go in. She even mastered the claws in her feet. For this, she needed no trainer. In fact, she didn't need any trainers. _We have to kill them. **If we get another one. **Exactly._

* * *

The driveway was longer than expected. From the gate they hadn't been able to see the house, the trees had covered too much, but they had ended soon. When the trees cleared, the mansion came into view. It was huge, somewhat imposing, but also beautiful. Old made to be new and new made to be old in a sea of ageless nature. Something Lexa had only felt one other time in her life came over her. She hadn't a name for it then, now she knew it was called peace.

_It was before we were us. **When we were one.**_

Lexa watched the mansion steadily getting closer, but it was still so far away. How could it look so close, but be so far away. It must be huge, they decided.

"It's beautiful." Garret said. Lexa looked over at him. She'd forgotten he was there. She was so used to his scent now, she could actually forget his presence. That had never happened before. No one had ever stayed close enough to them long enough, not even Sarah.

A pang of pain went through them. They were here, it was final. It had been before, a part of them had known it was, but they'd pushed it away. In a place so scattered it hadn't been hard. Then the sleep, they'd been so tired. They knew it had to have been a long way, but they couldn't be sure. They'd slept so much.

"How many days?" Lexa asked.

"Six." Garret answered. His pace was slow, he was in no hurry now that they'd made it. "I don't know if he'll be here today, but the person in charge here will be able to find him." Garret added.

Logan. How had they forgotten about Logan. It was the entire reason they'd agreed to this road trip. Logan was, no, what had Garret called him? James Howlett, Logan, Wolverine, and Weapon X. So many names. How had he gotten them all? She had to ask him.

_**I wonder if he knows about us.** What will we do if he does? **I'm not sure. Maybe we won't tell him. **Why? **I just want to fight him and see who wins. He doesn't need to know who we are. What'll happen if he does? **He might try to know us. **Exactly. He might try to be another Sarah. **No. No. No. I can't stand for that. **I know. **It hurt to much. It made X-23 come out. **Our heart break. **Not again. No one else will get close to us. **I can live with that.**_

Finally the mansion door was in view. They were there.

* * *

"Um, I have something to tell you." Sarah said to the little girl curled up at her side. She was only four. It was too soon. Stephen disagreed. He'd given her one more year, that was it.

"What Sawah?" The little girl asked. She was so cute and little. Her beautiful little face was so innocent. She was too young, this was too wrong. For the millionth time Sarah wished she hadn't thought of this idea, that she'd just done what she was told and dropped it. That she hadn't become attached to the girl. That she didn't love her. That she wasn't her daughter. That she was dead. That she'd never been born.

"Stephen West says you have to learn how to fight now." Sarah answered her daughter.

"You mean the mean man?" The girl asked. Where had she gotten that name from. Sarah hoped in vain that the camera's hadn't heard it.

"No, the boss." Sarah answered with her words. With her heart she said yes. The mean man, as her daughter had put it, was going to take this sweet little girl and turn her into a monster. It was torture to them both. She was still so young, as long as Sarah acted disgusted by her touch, they wouldn't suspect how much she loved the girl. Her daughter had a habit of throwing herself at Sarah. Even at four she was strong. It took two strong guards to restrain her when she was angry. How was Sarah supposed to refuse her? The answer was she couldn't, nor did she want to, not that she let anyone know that.

Stephen did. He knew just how attached Sarah was to her daughter. Yet he played with her. Gave her an inch, took a mile. Gave it back and took it again.

"I have to go now." Sarah said and attempted to get up. The girl let her go.

"Ohtay Sawah." She said. She was too little, she couldn't even speak right yet and they wanted her to learn how to kill. Sarah turned her back. She had no plan, yet. It was only a matter of time. Then she would free her daughter.

* * *

Lexa and Garret were greeted by a woman with dark skin and white hair. "Hello, my name is Storm." She said before they could speak.

"Garret Kenzington." Garret supplied. He was about to go on and introduce Lexa but she beat him to it. Something about this woman intrigued them.

"Lexa Laura Kinney." She said. She took a step toward this woman, then another and another until she was in front of her. She sniffed hugely, leaving no confusion as to what she was doing.

_Earth and wilderness. **And rain.** Yes and rain._"You smell like spring." Lexa said to the woman, to Storm.

"Strangely, you are the first to tell me that." She smiled. "They usually tell me I smell of rain."

"That's part of it." Lexa said. "You are spring."

"Then thank you." Storm said. She then turned to Garret. "The Professor is expecting you." She then turned and walked away. They were to follow her.

They went after her through the doors and through a time hole. It was like walking into another century. A century where wood and stone was architectural art, where life was both simpler and more complicated.

"Wow." Garret said under his breath, but Lexa still heard him.

* * *

"I am Lila Mecoon. Learn it." The imposing woman said to the child. A little thing. Hardly worth her time. Still money was money, and this was the best gig she'd ever gotten. All she had to do was teach this little brat some fighting skills, and she then she was done.

"Lila Maroon?" The child tried. Lila smacked her. Child or not, she would learn respect, even if she ahd to beat it into her.

* * *

"This one." Storm said and opened a door. This was it. They'd meet this 'Professor'. The man who knew where Logan was.

Lexa sniffed ahead. She smelt him. A strong smell, he was the leader, the alpha. Still, his scent held faint traces of strawberries. An odd combination. It made her uneasy.

Garret went in first. Lexa followed. He wasn't much taller than them, they realized. They'd thought he'd be taller, but he wasn't. Then he took another step and they saw the office. Or rather, the man in it.

He was bald and in a wheelchair that sat stationed behind a desk. Not at all what his scent had led her to think he'd be.

"Welcome." He said. He stared at Garret. "Interesting. I see you know all about us here."

"I do. It's a long story that's also very short." Garret said.

"Please sit." The Professor said and gestured at the seats before his desk. Garret sat. Lexa didn't. Instead she went to the bookcase. She felt both men's eyes on her. She ignored them.

"She's, well, she's part of the long part." Garret said by way of explanation.

"Very well." The Professor said.

_What's that? **I don't . . . It feels like. **Someone's trying to get in. **No! **No! **N**O**!**! _

Lexa didn't scream or cry out. Instead she just crumpled to the floor, completely silent.


	11. Stranger Danger

**Broken**

**AN: Still random. For everyone waiting. They meet next chapter. (Oh, I decided not to say IN the story why she can speak French. So I'll explain here. One of her old trainers was French Canadian. He had a habit of not noticing when he was switching between French and English. Lexa/Laura/X-23 just picked it up without noticing.)**

**Disclaimer: _Disclaimer: a denial or renunciation, as of responsibility._ (If I owned it, I wouldn't even write the word disclaimer, let alone the definition.)**

* * *

Chapter eleven (Stranger Danger)

_Laura? _

_**Lexa?**_

_Your awake._

**_Yeah, you too. What happened?_**

_Something tried to get in._

**_I thought so. It's to crowded in here for that._**

_Probably why the body blacked out._

**_Took us with it._**

_Um. Yeah, she's still out. Good thing X-23 was already asleep._

**_Didn't affect her at all. That's good._**

_Are we waking up? Do you feel that?_

**_Yeah, but, I can't move our eyes._**

_Neither can I._

**_I can't move anything._**

_Same. What do you think it is?_

**_I don't know._**

_I'm not sure._

**_I can't smell anything. You?_**

_No. Nothing._

**_This isn't good._**

_Not at all._

**_Shit. How're we supposed to do any . . . Wait. I feel it. Our eye twitched. Was that you?_**

_No. _

**_But X-23's still asleep. It couldn't have been her._**

Suddenly their eye opened, but neither of them had done it. A light was shined into their eye. They could see the ceiling of someplace. It was white that glowed blue. It reminded them of the mall vaguely. Their eye then fell shut again. Blackness again.

_What was that?_

**_I don't know. I can't hear anything._**

_Or smell. This is very bad._

**_. . ._**

_Laura? _

**_. . ._**

_Laura?!_

**_. . ._**

_Laura?! Where'd you go? Laura!_

Then she was gone too.

* * *

"I don't know what happened. All of a sudden she was on the floor." Garret said.

"Okay. Professor?" Jean Grey turned to the bald man.

He looked up at the red head from his chair. "I tried to see the surface of her mind. All I'd done was touch it. She fell, like her mind had shut off. I could hear nothing from her, like she was dead."

"That's never happened before." Jean said more to herself than the other two. Lexa's heart beat steadily. Her body was alive if nothing else.

"That doesn't sound good." Garret said. He'd heard her. He knew they spoke aloud only for his benefit, they had no need to use their voices. The Professor, he hadn't seen far into Garret's mind before he attempted to enter Lexa's. Obviously the results hadn't been good. She'd been taken to the med lab. The blue man, Hank, he was away. So Jean was in charge.

"Um." Garret drew attention to himself. "How many people can you have in your head before you have a meltdown?"

"Why?" Jean asked. It would be impolite to just find the answer for herself.

"Because, she's already got three in there. Well, one spilt into three." Garret explained. He'd thought the Professor would be able to see this himself, but obviously the strain had been too much on her. "She's a bit crazy."

The Professor looked at Jean. He knew they were having a private conversation. He just stood where he was, looking at Lexa. She'd been back for a few seconds. Well, they'd been back. Now they were gone again.

"Where's Sawah?" a voice broke the silence, it was childish, not her normal tone. They all turned to look at Lexa. Her eyes were closed, she hadn't moved. "Sawah?" Her mouth moved almost imperceptibly. "Ma Sawah, ma person favorite. Où est Sawah?" She said. She continued, alternating between English and French.

Finally she stopped. "Lex . . . " Garret was interrupted, by Lexa bolting upright. Her eyes opened and she slid off the bed. Her head cocked to the side. "No one is Sarah." She said. Now her voice fit her age, but it wasn't her voice. Her head turned to the Professor in a quick jerky movement. "Stay out." Her claws came out in another jerky movement. The ones in her feet as well. She stood still for a second, and then she ran. Gone before anyone could stop her.

* * *

I am whole. If only for the moment. How strange. I still feel my breaks, they are still present. What will happen when they shatter once more?

* * *

Something wasn't right. He could smell it. There was a new scent here, but it wasn't hostile, and it was with the Professor and Jean. It wasn't that. What then?

He sniffed again. Snickt. His claws came out, almost involuntarily. For a millisecond he felt pain, but it went away. He was too used to it.

Nothing. How was that possible? There had to be something.

There. Finally.

But no, wait. How was this scent so close to his own. If he hadn't been looking for it he'd never have picked out the differences. It had a slight feminine quality and a touch of hair dye. Beyond that barely noticeable difference, it was all him.

He shook his head, put it from his mind. Instead he sniffed again, caught a stronger trail. He followed.

* * *

The Professor closed his eyes, then opened them again, like he was blinking. "Logan is after her." he said to Jean. He looked at Garret. "You know him as well."

"Yeah. I've never met him, and neither has she, but, they have a lot in common." The Professor turned his chair and went out the door. Jean followed, Garret knew he was expected to as well. The Professor led them back to his office. He rolled behind his desk and gestured at the seats stationed in front of it. Both sat.

"The claws." Jean raised her eyebrows at him.

"You want the long part now?" He knew they did. Neither answered. "Okay, well . . ." He started.


	12. Fights And Flights

**Broken**

**AN: So, just to confuse you all more, something else is wrong with Lexa/Laura/X-23. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Me no own. Gawd.**

**Proud to be an X-Nerd: Sorry, it's an off screen kind of explaination.  
Nonya: Your like, the second or third reviewer to comment like this is the end of the story. It's not.**

* * *

Chapter twelve: (Fights and flights)

Whatever it was that he had caught the scent of, it was fast. He put on speed. It occured to him that he had no idea what he was chasing. If it was even worth it for him to do so. He just ignored the thought.

She, for he was certain that it was a she, fled through the trees. Soon, he didn't need his nose to point him in the right direction. She'd left a visable trail of broken branches, wood chunks, and blood. She didn't care what she hit. She was determined to go straight.

* * *

I was wrong. This is not the same. I am not whole. It chases me. They want to be free again. I can not let them. Whatever I am now, I am sure it will be lost.

My body. It breaks. It repairs itself. The claws from my hands and my feet. Will they clear my path?

She reaches out in front of her. The tree cuts and falls. She has to jump over it, it landed in her path.

Where am I running too? Is there anywhere?

She sniffed the air, searching. A scent hit her nose. It ran along the wind wrong. She shouldn't be able to smell it. It didn't matter, she did. So like hers.

Logan. My Weapon X.

Her legs stopped. She should have fallen by the abruptness of her stop, but she stood still and silent. She sniffed the air again. A stronger trail met her nose. She turned, her body jerking. her legs began to carry her once more.

* * *

The smell of blood lessened. She'd stopped hitting things. A tree lay fallen in the path. One end was cut cleanly. Strange. His movements stopped.

She was getting closer.

* * *

It was only when her eyes first set upon him that she realized it was her downfall. Her fissures, the ones she'd been so aware of, ripped open.

_Laura? **Lexa?** Another voice spoke. _Kill? It asked, almost like for permission.

_X-23, your out? _

I am?

_**How? Your never out? **_

_This isn't exactly the most normal day Laura._

**_No._**

I can not sleep. Let me sleep if there is no one to kill.

**_We have no control over you, stupid._**

_There is no control here._

Wait, I smell blood. Fresh to be taken.

_That must be Logan._

**_I'd wanted to fight him._**

X-23 crouched down. At the same moment Laura moved their arm and Lexa retracted their claws.

_Wait?_

**_What?_**

Huh?

"You. Come out. I can smell you." A voice said. It was low and husky.

Lexa stood, Laura pushed out the claws again, and X-23 spoke. "You offer yourself for death." They stepped out in the direction of the voice. It was him. Logan. They knew it. They'd seen a picture, he smelled the same as them, and his claws stood gleaming in the faint forest light.

_I'm no fighter. I'm the firearms girl. **See ya Lexa. **_Kill!!

Lexa retreated into her corner of their mind. Laura moved slowly toward him. X-23 itched to just throw herself at him, attack, but she couldn't overpower Laura. Something strange had happened, but this wasn't the time.

Logan looked surprised at the sight of her claws. "Time to die." They said. Laura gave in and they attacked. Logan was ready. He had no idea who they were, what they were doing. All he knew was that something had been wrong, their scent was strange, and they were attacking him.

He blocked them. Laura dug her foot into him, her claw piercing. She flipped off him and found herself landing on a tree branch.

"Who are you?" Logan asked. His wound was already healing.

They didn't answer. Instead they jumped into another tree and then fell upon him. Claws extended, completely silent. Words meant nothing.

Still he heard them. He caught their arm, they swiped with the other. They caught his face. Still he didn't let go. They pulled at their wrist. A crack reached their ears. Pain flooded them. They pushed it away. Pain was like words.

Logan held tight to their now broken wrist. He grabbed at their other hand. Their feet had landed on the ground. X-23 retracted her foot claws and jumped up and yanked down with her broken wrist. She kicked at Logan's knees. It brought him down, she twisted. She landed on top of him, her toes on his chest. Snickt. Her foot claws went through him. The claws on her uncaught hand plunged into his arm. his grip loosened slightly. She pulled free.

They jumped off him. He stood quickly, his wounds visably healing, though still open. They laughed. He was no challenge without his healing. Though now his scent was angry.

He charged at them. They jumped to miss him, he caught their leg and swung them into a tree. Their back broke. They lay still on the ground as their back repaired.

"Now, who are you?" Logan asked again. Too late, they were able to move now. They sprung into a tree and pushed off at him. He made to catch them. They swiped and curled so their foot claws stuck into his collar bones. He grapped their legs and pushed them to the ground. His claws followed, plunging into their heart.

They gasped. He thought they were done now. They looked up at him. Not so easy he would find. He removed his claws. They sat up, cocked their head, smiled.

They attacked again. They cut him in everyway they could. He got hold of their legs and held them together. He pulled and arm behind their back. He growled at them. They pulled and pulled. They couldn't break loose. Only one arm free.

Laura plunged her only free set of claws into herself. She caught him. She pushed further. "Die." She said. She pulled out her claws and plunged them back in. Again and again. She didn't care if it hurt her. It hurt him too. Finally he let go.

They scrambled up, and began to run. They were weak and healing. They'd been more damaged then him, but they had to get away. Even X-23 agreed.


	13. A Day In The Life Of, Well, Everyone

**Broken**

**AN: So, for anyone who didn't read my first story, Intentions, Ally is my OC from there. She returns.  
I can sorta type Rogue and Remy accents, I'm not even trying with Kurt and Piotr's. I'd just butcher them.**

**Disclaimer: blah blah not own X-Men blah blah**

**Adi Sagestar: I'm going to be perfectly honest. I have no idea who your talking about. So far, my only OC's are Garret and now, intoduced this chapter, Ally.**

* * *

Chapter thirteen: (A day in the life of, well, everyone)

They were too weak for this. _Let me help. _Lexa offered and brought herself back out. Together the three of them managed to run until they couldn't smell him anymore.

Slowly their wounds were healing. Blood stopped pumping from them. They pulled together, started to scab. Bruises appeared and then faded away. They were fixed now.

"Ah said no swamp rat." A voice yelled. They were drawn to it. They couldn't think clearly.

"C'mon chere." Another, deeper voice responded.

They fell out of the trees, onto the road just as yet another voice added. "Quit fighting, your giving me a headache." Six people turned to stare at her. It wasn't a road after all, instead it was a parking lot. The last one to speak, she spoke again. "Who're you?" She was the closest to them. Something in them quickly categorized them. The close one: Black and red hair, blue eyes, lime and sugar scent.

"Are ya alrahght?" The one who yelled: auburn and white hair, green eyes, electric and wind.

The smallest one: brown hair, brown eyes, dust and lip-gloss. The biggest one: blond hair, blue eyes, metal and charcoal.

Two other boys. One: Blue hair, amber eyes, sulfur and holy water. Two: auburn hair, brown eyes, spices and smoke.

They said nothing. They picked themself up. The lime and sugar girl, something about her scent was calming. It wasn't enough. They growled and escaped back into the forest.

They ran aimlessly. Then they were falling. They hit their head when they landed.

* * *

"She isn't safe. You've heard her sleep, think of what she'll do once she's awake." A voice said, harsh and frightened.

"She is the darkness. She is no danger to me." Another, much younger and kinder voice said. The first person grumbled and stalked away, mumbling about it being 'her own head'. "You're up. My name's Ally."

Ally was met with a growl.

"I've come to take my darkness back. You have to much." Ally spoke calmly and sat next to the growler. "Everyone has some darkness, some can take more than normal. You are such a person, yet you have to much." Ally said in her kind voice.

More growling.

"The darkness is my domain, it is mine to control and to balance." Ally told the still violently growling figure. "For now, you must sleep."

The growling stopped. Something much deeper than sleep was in control now.

* * *

"Who was that?" Kitty asked. No one seemed to know, yet it needed to be asked.

"Remy don't know chaton." Remy was the only one who answered.

"Maybe the Professor will know. She seemed hurt." Kitty continued. They were getting ready to go home anyway.

"Yeah, maybe." Wanda said distracted. "Hey, go home without me. I remembered something I wanted." Her gaze was directed back toward the mall. Kitty followed her eyes, a flash of orange made her smile. Of course. John.

"Sure, sure." Kitty said with a smirk.

"C'mon chere." Remy put his arm around Rogue's waist. She glared at him, but it was obviously half-hearted. She didn't make him move it.

"See ya back home." Kurt said with a wave. Bampf. He was gone, leaving only smoke.

"Katya." Piotr called her attention to him. His big truck would be nearly empty now. Jubilee and Amara had wanted to stay longer, and now Wanda did too. Kitty smiled, she rarely got alone time with him.

She wasn't completely sure if this was a good or bad thing. "Can I drive?" She asked knowing the answer.

"No. I am sorry, Katya." He was genuinely sorry, but not even he was brave enough to let her behind the wheel.

"I had to ask." She said and hoped into his truck. Other people had just pulled into the parking lot and gotten noisely from their car, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered with the door.

The drive home was silent. Not uncomfortable, but definately not relaxing. Kitty ached to just say something, but she couldn't think of anything. Alone in the truck, his smell so strong here, his arm a mere three centimeters from her, all she could think of was how completely in love with him she was, and how entirely chicken shit she was for not telling him.

Yet, no matter how much she berated herself, nothing came out of her mouth. He was older than her, he probably just thought of her the same way he thought of every other girl at the mansion. In fact, he probably already had a girlfriend, someone he went to college with. He wasn't a bragger, if he had someone he wouldn't say so just to say it.

He might tell if she asked, but she was to afraid of the answer. Damn it.

* * *

Professor. Kitty thought as soon as she was back in the mansion. She thought of the girl. Do you know her?

Yes. You saw her then.

Who is she?

Her name is Lexa. If you see her again, please tell me.

Alright, Professor.

Thank you Kitty.

She still had questions, but the Professor had heard them in her mind already. He just hadn't answered them. Later, she'd ask later. The girl, she'd seemed hurt, or rather, like she'd been hurt. There hadn't been a visible mark on her anywhere. She was probably just another mutant the Professor was tracking down. If she was needed, he'd call her.

* * *

"Chuck." Logan said upon entering the office. Jean and another guy were there. The new scent, clean but still a little dirty.

"You met her already." The new guy said, somewhat disappointed.

Logan stared at him for a second. He replayed the meeting in his mind. "Who is she?"

* * *

"Remy?" Rogue said sweetly, hopping off the bike.

"Oui chere." Remy answered. Rogue rolled her eyes. She punched him.

"Don't ya evah do that again." She warned him. The perv, on the ride home he'd speed around every corner so fast she was forced to nearly break him in half if she wanted to remain seated. He'd also managed to find the curviest road ever.

"Do what chere?" he asked innocently, not bothering to feign hurt at the place she punched him.

"Ya know what." She glared. She turned sharply and stalked off. His eyes burned holes in her back, she ignored it.

In truth, she'd actually sort of enjoyed the excuse to be so firmly attached to him, she just couldn't let him know that. Well, know for sure. She was sure he knew. She could have just let go and then flown home, instead she'd hung on.

Perv.

Good thing she liked it. Otherwise, he'd be dead.

* * *

Okay, so she'd lied, what else was new. They didn't know, well, really know. She was sure they had their theories. She just wasn't about to prove any of them right or wrong.

"Wanda." He said in his accented English and pulled her into a store.

"John." She couldn't hold back the small giggle that escaped. He was walking backwards, arms around her waist, pulling her with him.

She grabbed bits of clothing while he steered her, better to disguise their true purpose. He let her go when they got to the fitting room. She slipped in, and few seconds later, so did he.

She dropped the clothes, she'd never really cared about what they were. He pushed her against the wall, mouth attached to hers.

They only broke apart when they needed to breath. "Hey." She said, staring into his blue eyes, hands tangled in his orange hair.

"Hey." He said back. Then he kissed her again.


	14. Humpty Dumpty And Picturesque

**Broken**

**AN: So I decided that, since I introduced them, I might as well delve into their lives a little.**

**Disclaimer: Owning things like X-Men is for the other people, you know, the MARVEL people.**

* * *

Chapter fourteen (Humpty Dumpty and picturesque)

Your just not stable are you? Ally asked the growler in her mind. She wouldn't be heard, but it didn't really matter. Here in the darkness, nothing could hurt her. Here, she was invincible. She was only eight, but already she knew her mutation, had mastered it. It was just such a natural thing. It had been a relief to finally understand what it was she could do. Blackness healed her wounds. She could no longer mourn for her parents.

This one. This one should could help. Another had tried, it had just hurt her more. Ally let her darkness seep into the growler's mind. In a place so torn and confused, it's presence wasn't a burden like light would be. Something whole would never be home here. Images floated across Ally's vision like a silent movie, the only difference was the scent that accompanied it.

Broken glass, gleaming metal, black guns, smoke, White, endless white. Blue and red. Black, so comforting. A picture, a face. Hers. So similar to both. Limes and sugar, spring, a woman's scent. Her scent, but it was his. Pain, forever pain. So many different kinds. The quick heal, the slow fracture. Different faces, something different remembered about each. Hate for all. A blue and white place. It glows. People, clothes. A man. Sloppy and comfortable. A horrible chair. Endlessly the same. So many different versions of changeless. Asking for her. The face, the woman's scent, dead on the floor. Running. Fighting. The scent that was hers but wasn't. Blood, falling, dripping. Road. Not road. Six people. Big, small, blue, black, white, auburn. Metal, dust, sulfur, limes, electric, smoke. Running again. Falling. Black. Darkness. Sleep that isn't sleep.

Ally removed herself from the stream of images. She'd seen enough. Two faces had reappeared. A man's and a woman's. She's asked for the woman, seen her dead. The man, she'd fought with. Violently. Recently. Another thing had come up more than once. The scent of limes and sugar.

Ally eased the darkness that held the growler's mind. She woke up. She didn't growl, she was still to far under Ally's control. "You have a name?" Ally asked. She growled slightly, drool dripped from her mouth. "Then I'm calling you Growler until you tell me." Growler, to no ones surprise, let out a small growl. "You might not want my help, or even understand the concept of help, but I'm giving it to you anyway. Your head's to messed up and broken, there's to many blank spaces. My darkness is there, and you wont let go. It needs to come out. Most of it anyway. It's preventing you from being one again. I personally can't put you back together Humpty Dumpty, but someone can. I know that much.

"As for my part, it'll only work if you let go. In this state your in, I don't think you can do that on your own. I've searched your memories, there isn't anyone you trust. Not anyone alive anyway. There is one thing though. That lime and sugar scent. It calms you down a little. Not nearly enough, but a little." Ally spoke out loud. She knew it was mostly useless, Growler didn't understand a word she was saying. "I'm going to search for that scent. It belongs to one of the people you saw. I'm pretty sure it was one of the girls." Ally finished. She pushed the darkness back into Growler until she was back under.

* * *

He leaned back against the tree by the lake. It was comfortable here, not many people ventured this far out. Piotr propped his sketch pad against his knees, charcoal in hand. He didn't know what he wanted to draw yet, just that he wanted to draw. He let his hand down on the paper. It moved of it's own accord, his subconscious controlling it. It wasn't long before he recognized what he was drawing. Anyone else wouldn't have known yet, but he did.

This drawing, it was the same one he'd done a hundred times. Right now it was just an outline, barely recognizable as a body. It was hers. Katya. He had a picture of her. Of their group really. Katya, himself, Rogue, Remy, Wanda, Kurt, and so on. She was out in front. He always carried that picture with him.

No one was around, he let himself draw more of her. The sun was setting when he was done. He'd spent all day there. Sitting by the lake, drawing her, making sure every detail was absolutely perfect. He got up slowly, letting his long body stretch.

"Pete!" A voice, her voice, called. "Oh, Pete, there you are. You missed dinner." She came out of seemingly nowhere.

"Oh." he says. Even if he was a chatterbox, at this moment, with the sun behind her, framing her like an angel, he wouldn't have been able to say more.

"It's alright. I saved you some." She beamed and grabbed his hand. His heart picked up slightly. He let her lead him back to the mansion.

* * *

"Remy, stop." Rogue told him.

"What chere?" He stopped in his tracks. He'd been walking toward her. Rogue smiled internally. The boy was whipped.

"Follow meh." She said and backed into a connecting hallway. There was something she wanted to try. He followed her like she knew he would.

"Chere, where y' takin' Remy?" He asked as he caught up.

"Ya'll see." She didn't make any sign of going into the room until she was nearly past the door. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside. It wasn't necessary, he would have gone in anyway, she just liked to manhandle him. She also knew he enjoyed it as well. His smirk just gave more strength to her conviction. "Ya been out tahday?" She asked.

"Oui." Remy answered. His eyes were brown.

"Let meh see yar eyes, ya still have the image inducer on." Rogue informed him. He seemed a little surprised, he must have forgotten about having it on. He hit a button on his wristwatch, red and black replaced brown and white "That's better." She smiled, she loved his devil eyes.

"What y' got in mind Chere?" Remy asked in his best seduction voice. A very potent sound.

"Ya'll see." She said and sits on the floor, back to the door. "Come here swampy." He comes. Good boy. "Take this." She holds out a scarf. "What do ya thank ya could do with that?"

He thinks for only a second before he gets it. "Clever chere." He smirks. He places the scarf over her mouth and kisses her. Rogue almost forgets she's not in heaven.

* * *

"Are you running out on me again, Shelia?" He asks and wraps his arms around her waist in a death grip.

"We've been over this John. No more." Wanda tried to remove his arms half-heartedly.

"And yet you keep coming back." He whispers, his breath hot on her neck. He pulls her closer to him and sucks on her ear.

"Well, not anymore." Wanda says firmly.

"You said that last time." John breaths in her ear.

"Last time I lied. This time I mean it." Her voice doesn't waver, but her resolve is starting too.

"You said that last time too." John reminds her. That does it. She turns in his arms and kisses him. The fall back onto the bed. Long ago they'd abandoned the mall in favor of John's place. So she was being a traitor, well, somewhat. It just felt too good to stop.


	15. Searching For The Lollipop

**Broken**

**AN: So, I decided to tell this chapter from the view point of my OC. Ally, apparently, has more to say than I thought.  
Reviews with constructive criticism are appreciated. Thank you. **

**Disclaimer: Okay, seriously. How many times I gotta say it?**

* * *

Chapter fifteen (Searching for the lollipop)

In all honesty, she had no idea how she was going to find this lime and sugar scented person. It was like searching for the lollipop with the black dot on the bottom at the fair. It could be anyone of them. It might not even have been one of those people. Ally sighed.

It was light out, she lost track of days when in the tunnels. She was uncomfortable here, sun beating down, calling all shadows into hiding. She felt like one of them. She knew she looked the same. She could see it in her hands. The edges were faded and the colour was lightening. It was almost midday. She couldn't be out at that moment, the time all shadows disappear.

Ally sighed again. Her powers were at their weakest, if Growler hadn't been in the tunnels where darkness reigned, then she would have awakened by now. Ally's hold on her wouldn't have been strong enough to contain her in this brightness. Yet, she couldn't find it in herself to hate the light that so weakened her. Without light, there would be no darkness, without darkness, she wouldn't be.

"Hey, girl, get out of the road." A man growled at her. After being with Growler, his dry attempts were nothing but an annoyance. Still, she got out of the road. No use dying. 11:30. Time to get inside. She wasn't taking any risks. Not since the last time.

She'd been new to her powers. Reveling in the darkness while still an inhabitant of the world of light. She'd noticed herself fading, pain engulfing her. It was nearly noon, only a few minutes. Suddenly she knew she had to get out of the sun. She'd been afraid of the light after that. She still was in ways, but not that same unquenchable fear. Life in the shadows had taught her of the suns importance.

"Pietro!" A girl screamed as Ally walked through the door of an ice cream shop. It was a blond girl with a high ponytail. She had her hands on her hips in the classic mad girl pose. "How dare you!" She screeched at a boy with silver hair and blue eyes. Ally sat herself in a booth.

"Sorry about them dear. What would you like?" A woman in a pink shirt with a name tag asked her. "Where's your parents?"

"It's okay. I'll have a chocolate Sunday. Oh, and they're shopping down the street. Mom said I could have an ice cream." Ally lied smoothly. The woman whose name tag Ally couldn't read nodded and went away. Ally turned her attention back to the screaming girl and her quivering boyfriend. He was vibrating so fast it was nearly impossible to tell he was moving. His shadow on the floor was the only reason Ally herself was able to tell. His shaking however, seamed to have nothing to do with the blond banshee yelling at him. He was barely even paying attention to her. His body was turned toward her, but his eyes traveled the room.

"Are you even listening to me you cheating bastard?!" She screamed at him. He turned his eyes to the blond girl for a bored moment before roaming the room again. "Pietro!" She screeched. Her voice hit an octave that shouldn't be possible, any higher and only dogs would hear her.

Ally's ice cream came and she ate it quickly. The sooner she got away from the screaming lady the better. She pulled some money out of her pocket. Five dollars should be enough. She took her bowl up to the counter, making sure to keep a good distance from the still screaming girl. The same lady who took her order took the bowl and the money.

"Sorry." She said again. When she came back she handed Ally her changed. "They're regulars. I'd ask them to leave but I can't get a word in edgewise." She said by way of explanation. Ally had the feeling she had to give this speech often. Ally looked at the clock. Only 12:05. She had to wait more.

"It's alright. Though I have to wait more. Mom said to met her at the post office at 12:15." Ally said more to herself than the lady. The thing with a good lie was keeping it up, not forgetting your details.

"Bastard!" The lady screamed more. Ally covered her ears. Too loud.

"Crystal, look what you've done." The boy, Pietro, but in. Apparently he'd had enough. "You hurt a little girls ears and I'm pretty sure she shouldn't be hearing that kind of language." He said using Ally to stop his girlfriends antics. "I'm also sure that the proprietor isn't to happy about you scaring away her business."

"Oh, shut ..." Crystal started again.

"I'm not. Now, get out you two." The woman with the name tag bellowed, pointing at the door.

"See." Pietro smirked. He slid off his stool and dug his wallet out of his back pocket. He pulled out a few bills, obviously too much. He was right next to Ally. He turned to her. "I'm sorry little girl." He said and patted her head.

Ally froze. Limes and sugar. He smelled the same as Growler's memory.

* * *

She followed him out the door. She didn't even bother to wait a few seconds. Crystal, the banshee, had left him in a huff just outside the door. Ally barely spared her a glance. This boy, he smelled like Growler's memory. She hadn't seen him in there, but it didn't matter.

She kept to the shadows. It was still a little to early for her to be out in the sun, yet she had to risk it at times. Suddenly he stopped. He turned around so fast it was like he was always facing that way.

"Little girl?" He called. "Why are you following me?"

Caught, Ally came out onto the sidewalk. The building he'd stopped next too covered the place in shadows. She just stared at him before letting the shadows drift her to him. To him it would look like she disappeared and then materialized in front of him, out of nowhere. It would remind him of the blue teleporter without the sound effects and strong smell.

She wasted no time in taking advantage of his moment of shock. She sniffed him.

"What the ... ?" He jumped.

"Yes. You are." Ally concluded to herself more than him. Limes and sugar. Her nose wasn't as good as Growler's, but it was stronger than a normal persons. In the dark, one didn't need their eyes. "Come with me." She said and pushed past him toward the tunnels.

"Little girl, what are you talking about?" He asked despite himself.

"My name's Ally, not little girl. And you're to follow me." She said without turning. She tugged at the shadows around him. He was forced forward.

"Little, I mean Ally." He said in a confused and aggravated voice. "Whatever your doing, stop. I'm not following you."

"Yes you are. Now come of your own free will, or I'm dragging you. I don't think you'd like that." She said and pulled harder at the shadows.

"Like you could ..." He began. She rounded on him. She was before him in an instant.

"Don't mess with me. I'm in no mood." She said menacingly. She was short when she was completely formed, but half faded into the darkness she could stare down at him. "Your to follow me." She said and located the ever present darkness in the human mind. He had more than average, all the better for her. She pushed on it. He felt pain.

She let go and formed herself on the ground again. "Now come." She said as if speaking to an unruly dog. He followed.


	16. Abnormal Day, We Didn't Save The World

**Broken**

**AN: Yeah, I know. We haven't seen Lexa/Laura/X-23 in a bit. It'll come in a bit.  
Whenever I write a scene that has the Professor in it I always find that I can't think of things for him to say. He, especially, is really hard for me to write. Which should scare me, cause I find writting for Lexa/Laura/X-23 very easy.**

**Disclaimer: ... do I really need to repeat myself?**

**CaptMacKenzie: I know it seems a little off topic to swing the focus like that. However, I had a reason. These chapters are like the inbetween music at a concert feastival. No one particularly cares, it's just a break until the next act.  
Sorry about the your, you're thing. I'm constantly missing those things, so thank you for pointing it out.**

* * *

Chapter sixteen (Abnormal day, we didn't save the world)

"I can't find her." Charles Xavier said to himself. The girl, Lexa, Logan's clone. She was nowhere. At least, that he could find her. He'd only encountered this sort of problem once before. In a man who'd been to far gone into his own world for help. Lexa's mind was silent. Charles rolled his way out of Cerebro.

"You can't find her." Garret was the first one to speak.

"No, I can't." Charles responded even though it wasn't a question. Garret, an interesting character. His power, it was, unusual. The ability to instinctively know so much about someone, merely by spending time with them. It had it's limits, he didn't know the reasons a person had for their actions, all he knew is what they would do, what they could do. He was always learning about his company, and no matter how long he spent with someone, he still wouldn't ever know everything.

Charles served the people around him. Logan stood fidgeting, leaning against the wall. He was listening intently, and he wasn't happy with what he heard. Jean and Ororo stood near each other, they'd most likely been talking before he emerged. Garret stood slightly away from them. The Professor sighed.

"What can we do Professor?" Jean asked aloud. He looked them over again and told them.

"We'll have to search for her the old fashion way. I'll still try with Cerebro." Logan pushed off the wall. He wanted to find this girl. He hadn't known about her, now he felt it was his duty to talk to her, see what she wanted. If he could, he'd comply with her wishes.

* * *

"Shelia." He whined at her. "Don't go." He still held her, he pulled her tighter to him.

"I have to go this time John. They'll start to wonder where I am." She told the pyromaniac. "And stop whining. It's unattractive." John just smiled at her and reluctantly let his grip loosen. Wanda stayed for a moment before she got up.

"Tomorrow?" He asked. Wanda's glare was interrupted by her shirt falling over her face. John laughed quietly.

She put on her jeans and then pinned him to his bed. "Yes tomorrow." She said and kissed him. Then she got up and left. He watched her go.

* * *

"Hey Wanda." Kitty greeted Wanda as she walked in through the kitchen. "You missed dinner. Seems to be a theme today."

"Huh?" Wanda replied and opened the fridge.

"Piotr missed too. You just missed him in fact." Kitty explained.

"So that's why dinner's gone." Wanda mumbled.

"No, I saved him some. The only way I could get him to eat it all." Kitty defended the huge Russian.

"Calm down Kitty. It's a joke." Wanda said. Her friend could be intimidating when she was angry, despite her size. Wanda wasn't in the mood to go through that.

"Oh." Kitty said blushing, embarrassed to get so worked up,

"So, when you telling him?" Wanda smirked. Kitty turned tomato red, she was so easy to embarrass.

"What do you mean?" She tried to play innocent. "Tell who what?"

"Piotr that you love him." Wanda answered simply and found the bread, it wasn't in it's usual place. Stupid kids. Kitty opened her mouth and closed it again. She emitted a high pitch squeak.

"I don't." She finally managed to say.

"Uh huh." Wanda nodded disbelieving. She couldn't find the ham so she gave up. Just bread today then.

"I don't." Kitty insisted.

"Listen Kitty. You've been in love with him since he got here. We all know." Wanda put down her empty sandwhich and turned on her friend. "So, just tell him already."

Kitty couldn't talk for a minute. Wanda left her in the kitchen. "Wait." She caught up to her, running through walls absentmindedly. "Since when do you care? You hate all that mussy crap."

"Since it got annoying to watch you drool over him. Sides, I'm occasionally nice." Wanda said and then went back to going to her room. "We'll tell if you won't." She called over her shoulder.

* * *

They knew, they all knew. She couldn't believe it. She needed to calm down. A bath would be good, it's always helped before. She grabbed her bag of toiletries. She didn't have any shampoo left. Crap. She stuck her head through the wall.

"Hey, Rogue ..." Her jaw dropped. Two faces turned to look at her.

"What?" Rogue asked irritated.

"Um, I ..." Kitty floundered for words.

"Well?" Rogue demanded.

"Just, do you have, um, shampoo?" Kitty struggled to say.

"No." Rogue answered.

"Okay then." Kitty gulped and pulled her head back into her own room. She took a deep breath.

She bust out laughing. They looked ridiculous. Rouge and Remy rolling around on the floor, a scarf on her face. The irritated glare she gaze Kitty that was totally ruined by her mussed hair and the glaze that was still in her eyes. Not to mention the fact that Remy was on top of her.

Kitty struggled for breath. This was gonna make a great story one day. She would just have to wait for Rogue to get to the I've-decided-I'm-not-going-to-murder-you-in-your-sleep stage.

* * *

Where is this deranged little pipsqueak taking me? Pietro thought to himself. He'd tried to run, but she held him some how. He had to stay at normal human speed. It was irking. She'd lead him to the tunnels and made him get in first.

Somehow she was able to grab him with invisible hands and move him however she wanted. He had no idea what her power was. He'd thought it was teleporting, but no, it didn't seem right. She could do more than that. She'd done something to his mind, only for a second, but it had hurt like hell.

"We're almost there." She spoke, her voice coming from nowhere. "Growler will be happy to see you." Her voice was low.

Growler? Who was Growler? That was the first she'd mentioned the name.

"Don't even bother asking. You'll see." She said like she could read his mind. "Yup." She said like an afterthought. "You'll see."


	17. Gone To See Growler

**Broken**

**AN: And now you have it. Lexa/Laura/X-23 is back. Sorta.  
They're back and they're changed.**

**Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of thinking of things to put here.**

* * *

Chapter seventeen (Gone to see Growler)

Ally stopped in a seemingly random spot and called out. "Growler." She was met with nothing. "Wake up." Still nothing. "Good girl. Ready to tell me your name yet?" This brought on a fierce round of growls. She turned to Pietro. "That's why I call her that." She said. She turned back to the darkness. "I brought someone for you."

Pietro looked around. It was all dark. He would have tried to run, but he'd done so already. Somehow, this little girl held him. He just wanted to get back above ground. "What?" He asked hearing the last thing she'd said.

"Yup. He's just like that memory of yours. Same smell." Ally said to the growling dark. She turned to Pietro. "Sorry. I forgot you won't be able to see." Then he could. It wasn't like everything was suddenly illuminated, but rather that it was night and a cloud that had been blocking the moonlight had finally decided to move. He saw Ally, or rather, the middle of her. Her edges were faded into the darkness that surrounded her.

The thing that was growling turned out to be a person. A person in such a crumbled heap it was hard to tell at first sight, but a person nonetheless. It was also female. Her hair was short and dark and her body was long and wrapped up in odd angles. Her growls shook her entire body. Drool fell from her mouth. She looked around like an animal backed into a corner at the slaughter house. Yet nothing in her entire way of being expressed fear. She was cautious and, if not calculating, ready for anything.

Despite everything in him telling him he should fear her, he could feel nothing but pity. She was so obviously broken, crazy past any kind of normal help.

"You want to meet him?" Ally's voice broke his examination of her. "Yes? Then I'll let you go." Ally stepped away.

At first nothing happened. Then, like she had been suddenly released from a body bind, she leaped. He moved out of the way, but he still couldn't move as fast as he normally would have. She still missed, but she tried again immediately.

This time she caught him. They toppled to the ground and she held him down. She put her face to his neck and breathed deep. It seemed to relax her, her hold on him lessened. He made a move to throw her off and her grip tightened again, strengthening from before.

"Stop struggling. She won't hurt you." Ally coached from her shadows. "She smelled you the moment she woke up. Right now all she wants to do is attack, but your smell calms her down. She's curious."

Pietro didn't have words for an answer. What the hell was going on? A little girl follows him out of an ice cream shop his girlfriend screamed them out of, orders him to follow her and actually makes him with her still unknown powers and brings him to the tunnels to sick a deranged girl on him, a deranged girl that wants to kill everything but just want to sniff him? What the fuck?!

Said deranged girl was curently sniffing every part of him she could reach in their position. She purrs and then returns her nose to his neck. He's over the shock and every time he tries to struggle she growls and tightens her hold on him. He can't get up. She licks his neck. He makes a what-the-fuck-is-she-doing-? noise. Then she bites him. He cries out. "What the ..." he's cut off by her letting go and licking the blood off his neck. Once she's done she collapses on him.

Ally starts laughing.

"What the fuck is going on?" Pietro demands. He's finally let up but he can't get rid of the crazy girl that's latched herself to him.

"Okay, here, listen. It's a really long story and I don't know it." Ally stopped laughing and said seriously. "All I know is that this girl fell in my tunnels and that she had to much of my darkness in her. So much I was able to completely control her, I could even get glimpses of her memories. That's how I found out about the lime and sugar scent, your scent. Something about it calms her. To get my darkness out, I need her calm and willing to let go." Ally said.

"What?" Pietro demanded. "What's this about darkness?"

Ally sighed. "Okay, listen. The psyche is an odd thing okay. Everything has it's place. Separate rooms in a building if you will. Between those rooms is nothing, emptiness, darkness. Some people have more space between their rooms than others. You're such a person, which is why I was able to cause you pain. I couldn't control you more than that though." Ally explained. Pietro was still pretty much lost but he sort of got it. "Now, when a person goes crazy, the space between their rooms gets bigger, way bigger than it's supposed to be. The walls fall down and the darkness seeps into everything. That's why it hurts when I push on the space between your rooms. It's not supposed to be any bigger. Are you understanding this?"

"Um, a persons mind is a building. Between the rooms there's nothing. When you go crazy the nothing expands." Pietro said.

"Yes. When you're crazy, your rooms are to far away from each other. Your building isn't holding up well." Ally continues. "Now her, her minds almost completely darkness. She's been so crazy for so long that I'm not entirely sure if she can be fixed. I still have to try. The darkness is my domain. Both the space in your head and the shadows that surround you. Got it?"

"Yeah. This girls building is almost none existant."

"Yup. Your smell calms her down. So you have to help me get her to understand what I'm going to do." Ally said.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm pulling the darkness in her mind. It's attached to the walls of her rooms, I'm hoping it'll bring them with it." Ally said.

"Wait, so you don't know."

"Nope, I'm not sure at all. I've never done this before. I'm only eight. The only reason I'm know so much about this is because I pay attention to my powers." Ally said exasperated. How was she supposed to know everything?

"Do you know why she bit me?" Pietro asked.

"No." Ally barked. Despite all her knowledge and understanding, she was still, after all, a child.

"Before you do anything. I think we should ask the Professor. If what you're doing doesn't work. He might be able to help her." Pietro suggested. He wanted this over with. He had the feeling crazy Growler wouldn't let him go till she had her mind back.

"Who's the Professor?" Ally asked. It was Pietro's turn to explain.

* * *

Professor? Pietro called with his mind. I've got someone here, two actually, who you should meet. Pietro thought of Ally and Growler.

Pietro. Yes, bring them to my office. I'll be there shortly. The Professor answered Pietro's thoughts.

Pietro was going to turn and tell Ally and Growler to come in now when he saw his sister.

"Hey Pie." She said. Then her eyes narrowed, like she has trying to see something. She zeroed in on him, pushing his head aside before he could stop her. Sometimes she was so fast he wondered if she had some of his powers. "What's this? Someone bit you?" She asked. She put her finger on it.

"Ow, ow, ow." Pietro shrunk away from her touch. "Yeah. Don't ask." He told her, holding his neck. He felt something grab his shirt before he was violently pulled back. "Hey." He said knowing full well who it was. He regained his balance. "Stop it."

"Pietro?" Wanda questioned.

A low growl came from behind him. "Stop it. Let go." He ordered. She didn't listen well, but she did stop pulling him. Instead she clung to his shirt. "I picked up someone on my way home." He told his sister. "Come on." he said to Growler. "Ally." The little girl came into the house. It was night, the lights were on, it was obvious she was uncomfortable in it.

"Why're you up so late?" Pietro asked. He'd looked at his watch. It was nearly midnight. Wanda liked to sleep.

"I was just going to my room." Wanda said. "I'd ask why your just getting home, but I guess it has something to do with your new friends." Wanda smirked. "G'night Pie." She said and resumed going to her room. She'd come from where the kitchen was, it was obvious by the half eaten bread she'd held. It was on the other side of the building. He hadn't used the main entrance, instead opting for the dorm entrance.

"Let's go." he grumbled to his companions.

The Professor was just getting to his office when they got there. Growler saw him and immediately pushed Pietro out of her way. Ally too seemed to know him.

"Get her." Ally said. Pietro grabbed Growler before she could attack. She struggled but wouldn't hurt him. Ally turned to the Professor. "You didn't know before. Maybe you do now. Can you help me help her?" Ally asked.

"Yes." The Professor said. "May I?" He asked. Ally nodded. He looked in her mind. Saw how the shadows covered her mind. She wasn't like everyone else. To take away her shadows would make her insane. "Intriguing."

"Professor." Pietro said still holding her back.

"Ally, if you don't mind."

"Sure."

Growler stopped.

"Her name is Lexa, or at least, part of her is." The Professor told them. "Bring her with me." He went into his office. They followed. When Pietro tried to set her down she clung to him with an unbreakable grip. "You can hold her." The Professor said. Pietro sat in one of the chairs and held her so the Professor could reach her head.

Both Ally and the Professor closed their eyes.


	18. A Crazy Beautiful Mind

**Broken**

**AN: So, this is set in Lexa/Laura/X-23's mind. As a reminder of what's what, and cause It's annoying to continue to identify which ones the Professor and which ones Ally. I've made a little list of which type belongs to who. Notice that around the Professors and Ally's type is quotation marks. This is important to distinguish between everything.**

**Disclaimer: For the last time, okay not really cause I have more chapters, I don't own X-Men in any way, shape, form, or manner !!**

'normal type'- Professor  
**'Bold type'- Ally  
**_Normal Italic-Lexa  
_**_Bold Italic-Laura  
_**Underlined type-X-23

* * *

Chapter eighteen (A crazy beautiful mind)

The first thing they noticed was the colour, or lack of it. It's impossible to discribe just what it looked like to them. Just that neither was surprised, this was a normal place for them. In the mind of another.

'Go ahead Ally.' the Professor instructed. Their presence their wasn't intruisive. Not as his had been before. He hadn't known how torn she was.

Ally pulled on the darkness around her. She was met with resistance. It went away quick enough. Pietro was doing his job. It was slow and hard, pulling in the walls of someone's psyche. The Professor couldn't help her much here. Not yet.

_Laura?_ A voice asked hesitantly. It was faint. Ally pulled harder. **_Lexa?_** 'One more Ally. Then I can help.' The Professor said. They weren't all there yet. He still couldn't grasp at her mind, it was still to mangled. Like gripping water and hoping it'll stay.

Kill? A third and final voice came. Ally still pulled. The Professor felt something. The liquid of her mind was slowly freezing, he could catch some. He pulled along with Ally.

Three figures slowly began to materialize, a room around them, the room was plain, three walls, a door per wall. Ally turned and there was a wall behind her made of glass. It would show the outside world given a chance. Until then, it was blank and black. This was the frontal room, this was where they controled their body. Each figure looked exactly the same. It was impossible to tell them apart. **_Who're you? _**They asked at once.

Ally tried to pull more but found she couldn't. The three before her. They were stopping her. She'd pulled them back to a state they knew, a place they were comfortable. A place still horibbly fractured. Even the Professor could pull no more.

**'I'm Ally.'** 'Professor Charles Xavier.' They inroduced themselves.

_**Those names mean nothing to me. **I don't think they're going to leave us Laura. I think they pulled us back.** I don't care Lexa, they still have to go. **_Kill? _No!** Not yet.**_

The three spoke between themselves. 'You know Garret.' The Professor told them. They all stared at him. **'And the limes and sugar scent.' **Ally put in.

'You are the clone of Logan. Your mother is Sarah Kinney.'

**'The woman from your memories.' **

**_What do you know of our memories? _**

**'I know what you've let me see.' **

_I've let you see nothing. _

All will die before you leave here. 

**'Listen, we want to help you. We can make you one person again.'**

'You are three, let us help you. Make you one.'

_**No. We're comfortable here. This is our life. **You can't take it from us. _You won't live to try.

**'I won't beg you. I'm going to do this and you can't stop me.'** Ally smirked. No little resistance would keep her darkness away from her. She pulled violently. Ally three figures shook. The doors shimmered. So that was it. They'd each built up their own personalities. Like that could stop her.

'Ally, stop.' The Professor warned. Ally ignored him. She was a child, and the darkness was hers. She would have it back. She pulled her hardest yet. One of the doors faded completely, a wall with it. The room reformed into a triangle.

'Ally, stop now.' The Professor warned again and tired to make her leave. She resisted, losing her form in the darkness. One of the girls faded away with her door. The one that kept telling them to die.

_Stop!_ One yelled.

**'No! It's mine. Give it back.'** Ally screeched. She wouldn't give up. This girl was giving her her darkness back, weather willing or not. Her body was the only thing Ally had worried about. Now, it wasn't an issue. Pietro had it calmed, right now they had no control over it. A rational part of her told her that she should stop, this might hurt them more. But she was tired of listening to that part of herself. She was eight for crying out loud. Eight and powerful, how rational could she honestly be expected to be. She was still a child, and she wouldn't let anyone forget that. She didn't want to be an adult just yet, they fought and made things complicated. **'Now!'** She yanked with all her strength.

'Ally, you will stop now.' The Professor ordered. She was young, he knew that. He'd anticipated something along the lines of this, yet he hadn't known she'd be so apt at evading his attempts to reign her in. She'd hid her strength from him.

_Make it stop Laura. **I can't, I can't. **_The two remaining girls sunk to their knees, claws extending and retracting of their own accord. They screamed. The Professor gave up trying to make Ally stop, instead he turned his attention to fighting back. Her powerful pulling was nothing to him.

**'Let go, let go!'** She cried. 'Ally, your work is done now. Go back out. You'll get you darkness back. I promise.' The Professor said soothingly. She cried and tried to pull again. Nothing. She cried more and formed herself only to fade away.

'You can calm now.' He said to the girls still on their knees.

_Where'd she go? _

'She's gone now. If you look, you'll see there's more in your rooms. She's joined you both.' He explained. 'You have to let me put you back together again. You've been apart for too long.'

_**No! Especially not after that. **Never._

'She pulled you back forcefully, I can make it gentler. You resisted her pulls as well.'

_**Still no. **I don't want to die._

'You won't be dying. Just becoming more.' He said gently.

_No, it's death. **We know. Our oldest self. She died when we were born. **She's gone forever._

'Not forever. I can bring her back. She'll be you both, and herself, and the one whos already joined.'

**I'll fight you. **_We both will._

'I could make you, but I will not.' He sighed. 'Think, do you remember what she did. The other one.'

_X-23._

'X-23. You have her memories. Don't you. You have parts of her personality.' He tried a knew approach.

_**Yes. **But we've always had that._

'Never so much. Look.' One of them must have listened. Her eyes closed and then opened. Her face went from defensive to tired and passive.

_Laura, he's right. **No, stop thinking that. I won't loose you. **He's helpped us, only helpped us. He made that girl go. He stopped our pain. He said we'd feel her more and we do. How do we know he's wrong. **Your to trusting Lexa. **And you won't trust enough. **No. He says he won't make us. Let's make him leave. **We can't make him leave. He isn't a part of us. **Lexa. **Besides, what if he's right. We know we're wrong. Maybe he can fix us. **We don't need to be fixed. We're wrong, I'll admit that. But we don't need help. We're good this way. We have a system, we share, we know each other. When they treat us horrible we have someone to talk to and plan their deaths with. We're a package deal. They never knew about us. We kept it that way for a reason. **No, we didn't. Not that reason. You know they wouldn't have cared, you know they wouldn't have tried to put us back together. They would have broken us more. That's why we kept it a secret. They would have hurt us more. **Lexa, your wrong about this, even if you are right about that. **I'm right, you know I am. If I'm right about this, maybe, just maybe. We could let him. He says we won't die. That's the only thing I fear. **We can't trust him. **He's done nothing to us. It was that girl that hurt us, and he made her go away. Maybe, maybe he's like Garret. **We can't trust Garret either. **I trust him. Like I trusted Sarah. **You see where that trust brought you. She's dead. **Because of them. She did nothing. She only hurt us because she was dead. It wasn't her fault. I thought you realized that. **It is her fault. She's dead because she followed their orders. She trained us. She made us ready. She knew they would kill her and she did it anyway. **Because she loved us, and she had no choice. It was either she did it or they got rid of us. I knew that, why don't you? **I know I'm right about this Lexa. **Laura, do what you want. I won't fight him. I don't really know why. I just know I shouldn't. **Lexa he'll kill us. **I don't think he will. Now shut up. You have two options, fight or give in. I'm giving in. I'm tired. I don't want this anymore. It hurts. **Where is this coming from? **X-23. She hated this, it's why she always slept, why she wanted to kill so much. Look in yourself. You'll see it._

_Go on. _Lexa said to the Professor and smiled. Laura pouted but did nothing. She didn't want to admit that Lexa was right, she was also afraid. She didn't trust him, but she trusted Lexa above all else. If Lexa was set in doing this, she wouldn't go against her. She said nothing but wrapped her arms around her other half. _I love you too._

It was short work after that. To bring them together. What took forever was the healing. The stitching, holding them together so they didn't drift apart again.

When the Professor opened his eyes again, it was the next day.


	19. Endings

****

Broken

**AN: This is the last chapter. I hope you all liked it.  
(And yes I am aware of the time jumping)  
I changed some things I had, cause I realized it didn't make sense. So, when all else fails, blame the creepy OC.**

**Disclaimer: I mean it this time. I don't own X-Men.**

* * *

Chapter nineteen (Endings)

She opened her eyes to sunlight, she heard birds and breathing. She felt tired, but also, rested. More rested than she could ever remember being. Peace. She felt at complete and utter peace. This she'd never felt before. A vague semblance of it, yes, but never this overwhelming calmness. Complete and whole. Everything looked sharper, brighter. Sound was more distinct, scents stronger. The air buzzed with life she felt everywhere around her. She stuck out her tongue and it tasted different, fuller. She could pick out everything about it.

"Good morning." A voice startled her. It was then she noticed the position her body was in. She was curled up in someones arms. "Are you going to tell me why you bit me now?" The same voice asked. She looked up at the owner of the voice. She sniffed the air gently. Limes and sugar, and, a little bit of her. It took her a moment to remember how to speak.

"I don't know your name." She said. "I don't know my name."

"Your name's Lexa." He supplied. "I'm Pietro. Why'd you bite me?"

"Hold on." She said and sorted through her memories. They were slightly disorienting.

"Don't try that just yet. I'll help you with it." Another voice said. She turned and saw a man in a chair with wheels. He was bald and in a suit. "Hello, I'm Professor Charles Xavier." He smiled.

"I'm Lexa?" She said questioningly.

He smiled again. "You've been called many things for the nameless. You've been Lexa, Laura, X-23." He said. "However, there is one name that you've introduced yourself by many times."

"I don't understand."

"And you won't for a while. Until then, do you want to know your name?"

"Yes."

"You called yourself Lexa Laura Kinney. It's a name you chose yourself."

"Lexa Laura Kinney." She said. "Yeah, I like that." She let her mouth move into a smile.

"Now Pietro, stop asking her that. She doesn't know yet." The Professor scolded the person who held her.

"Do you know?" Pietro asked.

The Professor smiled to himself. "Yes. I do." He chuckled. "She wanted to draw your blood, as you should know by now, a persons scent is stronger in the blood."

"Huh?" Pietro huffed.

"A mistake actually. " The Professor told him. "Ally, the little girl who brought you here, she found the wrong person. The actual person she should have brought should have been your sister."

"I'm have no idea what's going on?" Pietro whined.

"Don't complain. She's an interesting person." The Professor said as Lexa watched with interest while they talked like she wasn't there. "Lexa will probably feel inclined to follow you around for a little while. Then, once she gets more comfortable here, she follow her own course."

"So I'm stuck with her?"

"Don't whine Pietro."

* * *

He let her down and made her walk. He was done carrying her. She followed him silent. She watched him. He was the only person she knew besides the Professor.

She smelled someone coming. Limes and sugar like him, but there was something different about this scent. It was feminine, and her own scent wasn't mingled with it. She liked this scent much better than Pietro's. She got in front of him. A low purr/growl came from her throat at the sight of a girl with black and red hair, she liked her already. Lexa was going to go to her when a pair of arms stopped her.

"No, your not attacking her." Pietro said.

"Where's the other one?" Wanda asked. "The little girl."

"I'm not attacking." Lexa said with confusion.

"I don't know. She left a while ago. While I was asleep." Pietro answered Wanda. "What do you mean your not attacking? You growled at her." Pietro didn't let her go.

"I'm not attacking." Lexa said again. "I growled?" Pietro let her go confused.

"So, who was she, and this one?" Wanda asked and came closer. Lexa got out of Pietro's reach and went to Wanda.

"I'm Lexa Laura Kinney. Please to meet you." She stuck out her hand. Wanda took it looking at her strangely. "Why do you smell like Pietro?"

Wanda laughed. That reminded her of Logan, he got them confused sometimes when he couldn't see which one was coming. "I'm his twin sister."

Lexa nodded, something in her knew what that meant. Pietro was watching the exchange with wide eyes. This girl was so weird. First she attacks him, then she bites him, then she clings to him, then she has a civil conversation with his sister like a normal human being.

"What's with the fish eyes Pie?" Kitty asked making her presence known. She'd just come in. "Who're you? You new?" Kitty asked Lexa.

Lexa smiled and went to Kitty. She smelled familiar. Lip-gloss and dust. "Lexa Laura Kinney." She instantly liked her, a face came to mind, with ice blue eyes.

"I'm Kitty Pryde." She answered. "A new girlfriend Pie?"

"No, I mean, I just. Oh, I give up. Ask the Professor." Pietro said and stalked away. To much for a 24 hour period, and he was used to saving the world from intergalactic threats. Lexa watched him go for approximately four seconds before she turned back to Kitty and Wanda. She wanted to stay with them, but she didn't know how to ask.

"Bye." She waved at them and ran off after Pietro.

"Does she seem familiar to you?" Wanda asked as Kitty remembered. She'd been thinking the same thing.

"She's that girl from yesterday. The one who popped out of the forest into the parking lot." Kitty told her.

"Huh." Wanda nodded and then shrugged. He must have found her yesterday. She went on her way to the kitchen.

"Hey, um Wanda?" Kitty caught up.

"Yeah."

"Um, thanks, for the advice I mean."

"So you told him."

"Well, no. I mean. I wrote him a note." Kitty blushed. "I left it in his room while he was sleeping."

"Oh, good girl then. Not the best way in my opinion, but it'll work." Wanda told her.

"So, just, thanks." Kitty stammered.

"Your welcome." Wanda said. They walked some more. Wanda sighed. "So, you eat yet?"

"No."

"Good, come on. I feel like something other than cereal."

"We should get everybody, or at least Rogue." Kitty said excited. She liked it when they all went out.

"Fine." Wanda sighed defeated.

* * *

The Professor had called them in a while ago. He'd gotten back to the mansion late, he'd been the farthest away. Logan was with him.

"You want to see her." Garret said.

"That'll get annoying kid." Logan said.

"I know." Garret just smiled. He liked Logan, he was interesting, there was so many things to learn about him. It reminded him of Lexa. "He's probably working on her mind right now."

"If we don't make any noise, he won't notice us." Logan said leading the way to the Professor's office. Logan went in first.

Pietro sat in a chair with Lexa in his arms. The Professor was holding her head and a little girl was in the corner, faded into the shadows. Pietro nodded at them. "Who's he?" He mouthed.

Garret went to the Professor's desk and got a pen and some paper. I'm Garret Kenzington. He wrote on the paper. I brought Lexa here.

Pietro took the paper from him. Do you know why she bit me? He wrote. Logan held in a laugh. No. Garret wrote. Your useless then. Pietro wrote back.

Logan stopped watching them and turned his attention to Lexa. His clone. It was almost like having a sister/daughter. He wasn't sure which. He wasn't sure how to talk to her now, if she ever wanted to talk to him. This situation just more confusing with every passing thought.

I think she'll like you. Garret handed him the paper. It had been a while, Pietro had fallen asleep. Logan just gave him a look and went back to staring at her. I can sense it already. She's being pulled back together.

Suddenly her face contorted in pain. It was the only response her body gave. Then, just as suddenly it was gone.

The little girl in the corner let out a wail. Garret was the first on to her. The only one to her. She cried and swatted him away. He followed her as she ran out.

"Hey, stop." He called after her.

"No." She yelled. Garret caught up to her. "Let go." She was crying.

"Stop, shh." he cooed. She struggled weakly before giving up and just plain crying. Her body collapsed in his hold. "It's alright." He said brushing back her hair. "What happened?" He asked.

"He made me leave. He wouldn't let me have my darkness." She cried. Garret wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but he didn't ask questions. Instead he just rocked her until her tears stopped flowing.

"What's your name?" He asked her.

"Ally." She sniffled.

"Do you have a last name Ally?"

She nodded. Then shook her head. "I can't remember." A few more tears fell. She was alone, all alone. No, she had someone, but not anyone who could care for her. They didn't have time. They left her alone too often. She was forgetting that she could exist in the light. She was too stressed for an eight year old, for someone any age.

"Don't run away, okay. People here can help you with everything you need." Garret told her.

"I don't need anything." She defended while sniffling.

"Yes, you do. You don't have a home." He pointed out.

"I live in the tunnels."

"That's no place for anyone. Even you. Stay here, see what they could do for you." Garret told the girl.

"Okay, but you promise I can go if I want to?" She asked. Garret nodded. She sniffed one more time and nodded herself. "Okay." She yawned. "I'm tired."

"Let's find you a place to sleep." Garret stood and she clung to him. He'd have to carry her. It was okay.

* * *

"Good idea Kitty." Rogue said as they sat down. Remy had come with her. It was only the four of them. Piotr was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, wasn't my idea. It was Wanda's." Kitty said.

"I'm tired of cereal." Wanda said scanning her menu.

"I've decided to forgive you." Rogue said to Kitty. Remy smirked at this. Kitty blushed and nodded. Her teeth clenched as she held back a laugh.

"For what?" Wanda ask. "She walk in on you doing something weird?"

"Um, yeah actually." Rogue said, a light blush coating her own cheeks.

"Really? What?" Wanda put down her menu.

"Um, well." Rogue stuttered. Remy laughed.

"She and Remy were making out on the floor." Kitty laughed. Wanda looked confused. "They had a scarf." Kitty supplied. Then Wanda was laughing with them. The waitress came while they laughed, a smile on her face. Laughter was infectous.

"Wow, harsh." She said between laughs. "Almost as weird as me being three months pregnant." She turned to the waitress. "I'll have pancakes and two eggs, sunny side up, with toast, and a chocolate chip muffin." The waitress wrote it all down.

The laughter had died immediately. "What?" Rogue was the first to speak.

"Yeah, and I'm married too. Four months." Wanda said like she was talking about the weather. "I'm have a glass of orange juice and a glass of milk too." She said. The waitress wrote it down.

"Congratulations." She said and turned to the others. They weren't paying her any attention. "I'll come back." She said and left.

They were all silent.

"Well this is boring." Wanda commented.

"What the hell?" Rogue yelled. "Your married, and your pregnant?"

"You shouldn't be shouting, they'll kick us out. Then I won't get my food. I'm hungry, don't ruin this for me. I was up puking all night. Morning sickness my ass." Wanda complained.

"Who?" Remy asked calmly.

"See, someone gets the whole indoor voice thing. Thank you Remy." Wanda scolded. "Now, to answer your very polite question. It's John." She said. "As in St. John Allerdyce, as in Pyro."

"But he's the ..." Kitty spoke for the first time. "I just thought you two were having fun. I never thought, ugh."

"I know, I know. You think I didn't think of that."Wanda scolded. "The Professor told me he's okay with it since he understands the situation."

"The Professor knows?" Rogue was incredulous.

"Well duh. He's a mind reader. Jean knows too for that matter. She doesn't approve but she can't change my mind.Anyway. The waitress is coming back now. You think you could order. I have a doctor's appointment in an hour and a half."

"Is that the reason you suggested we go out?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah. I knew to ask you cause then you'd get everybody that mattered to come and I could tell you all." Wanda admitted. "Listen, I don't have time to tell you the story. How bout I tell you later when your less ready to rip my head off."

"Remy want te be dere when y' tell Pietro." Remy smirked. He was, by far, taking this the easiest.

* * *

"Now I know why?" Lexa exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Pietro asked. He'd resigned himself to having her around. Actually, she wasn't that bad company. Sure she confused the hell out of him, but that's what made her so interesting. She'd seen the Professor earlier and regain some of her memories. She met up with her friend Garret again, she'd stayed with him until the creepy girl Ally woke up. The darkness girl attached herself to Garret. He was actually kind of worried for the stranger.

"Why your sister smelled so different from you even though your twins." Lexa answered and sat up on the grass. She liked Wanda, was kind of regretting not going with her. Pietro was constantly being surprised by her, it was already getting annoying. They were sitting under a tree near the lake.

"Well, she's a girl." Pietro said.

"No, more than that. I couldn't place it then but then I remembered something just now. Another lady who smelled like that."

"What're you talking about?" Pietro asked.

"She's pregnant. Am I right?" Lexa asked, she wanted to be right. It would be awesome if she was right. Pietro's eyes went huge.

"What?" he practically screamed.

"You didn't know?" She seemed confused, they were twins. Didn't that mean they told each other stuff.

"No!" He yelled and was up so fast she barely saw him. Then he was gone.

"Pietro!" She complained and sniffed the air. She'd have to track him, he didn't have control of his actions when he was emotional, he'd shown that already. She sighed. 'Stupid man' Sarah would have said. 'He is.' She agreed.


	20. Deleted Scenes

**Broken**

**AN: So, these are the deleted/alternate POV/story to the backstory/story to the story. So, basically, this is everything else. I had a lot more than I usually do, so I put it in. These scenes are mostly just for me. (Oh, and I have her talking to Logan in one as an incentive to read on for anyone isn't me and doesn't care.)**

**Disclaimer: ugh.**

* * *

**Deleted scenes . . .**

12 years ago. How we break:

"Isn't she ready yet?" Stephen growled.

"No, she doesn't seem to know they exist." Lila answered.

"Fine then. We'll force them out of her. Make her angry." Stephen instructed. The trainer would do as bid. If it didn't work, they'd preform the surgery anyway. They'd just cut her open.

Lila trained her hard that day. At one point her arm was even cut off. It'd only been two months, but she already knew she wasn't allowed to cry. She was a machine. An object to be used by them. This was the hardest day she'd ever been through by so much. Lila had started her off slow, got her in shape and comfortable around weapons, but this, today. This brought her so close to something. She thought it would be the end of her. Death.

"She refuses to show her claws." Lila reported the end of that hellish day. Stephen said nothing. He just nodded and hit a button on his phone.

They came back. Normally they would let her rest for a few hours. She'd barely been alone a few minutes when her door opened again. Men came and attacked her while she was weak and tired. She couldn't fight them off. They found it so easy they didn't even tranquillize her. They just held her hands and legs. They carried her to another room and strapped her to a table.

"This it?" A cold voice asked.

"Yes." Stephen answered. The one with the cold voice was a woman, she came into her line of vision and then left again. Suddenly she heard ripping, then pain flooded her.

She must have screamed because the cold woman told her to shut up. She just screamed louder. This was unlike any pain she'd ever gone through. She couldn't move, her wounds were being held open. Even when her arm had been cut off earlier it had been nothing to this. That pain had flared and then left when her arm reattached itself.

This was permanent, staying with her as she screamed and struggled. Hands held her down in more places and she struggled harder. She couldn't see, her eyes were hazed over in pain. Spots of black and white were all she could distinguish. More ripping, somewhere else on her. She screamed and doubled her efforts.

Then she felt something entirely knew. Something burning hot and liquid. It clung to her and scalded. She screamed and struggled to no avail. She couldn't stop this.

Finally something in her broke. She passed out.

* * *

Four months ago. A drunken night:

"Why did I let her drag me here again?" Wanda scoffed. They were in Las Vegas on a mission. They'd finished it yesterday and the Professor hadn't needed them for anything, so they stayed a few extra days.

"It was either follow her, or watch the kids." Rogue reminded her friend.

"Oh yeah." Wanda sighed. This wasn't her scene. "I need a drink." She mumbled and went off in search of the bar. It wasn't hard to find, at least half the people in the club were swarming it. Rogue called after her, but she ignored her. She caught a glimpse of auburn. Remy. Rogue wouldn't be paying her much attention for the rest of the night.

"What would you like little lady?" a bar fly asked her. She ignored the man, it was hard to tell so close to the bar, but she was sure he would reek of alcohol.

The bar tender was a slight woman, it didn't seem like she would be able to hold all those glasses, but she managed it. She turned her stare to Wanda.

"A beer." Wanda said before the woman could ask. She nodded and put down her tray of empty glasses. Wanda turned to look at the people dancing while she waited.

"I.D." A voice came behind her. The bar tender. She dug out her wallet and showed her license. She still looked young, she got this a lot. "Okay." The woman gave her the beer. Wanda nodded a thank you.

"Come on, let me buy you a drink." The same bar fly from before found her again. Wanda ignored him. "Come on." he said again. No doubt he thought his voice was sexy. It was squeaky and his words slurred. Wanda shot him a glare. "Just one."

Wanda had to resist the urge to punch this irritating person. "No." She said firmly. "Go away."

"Just one, another beer." He was persistent.

"She said no, now get before I throw you out." The bar tender came back. The man let grumbling. "Sorry, he's always here." Wanda just nodded and turned back to the dancing people.

She was bored. She was near a bar. She didn't have to pay because Kitty had offered as means of persuasion. So she drank.

4 beers, 5 shots of tequila, and 1 martini later, she couldn't barely even stand up on her own. After about the third beer she'd started mixing drinks, never a good idea.

"No more, I'm cutting you off." The bar tender said. Wanda grumbled. She pushed away from the bar and managed to get herself outside.

"Hey, do I know you?" Someone slurred at her. It was the annoying guy from before.

"No." She said as forcefully as she could manage.

"I think I do." He persisted.

"No." She said and tried to walk away. She fell. Someone picked her up. It didn't help much since they were shaking on their own feet, but they still managed to put her in an upright position. "Hey, get off." She feebly flailed.

"Shelia, Shelia." The person muttered. Wanda looked through her hair, the annoying guy was still against the wall. Who was holding her.

"Who're you?" She asked cause she couldn't see them.

"I'm John." He said. "St. John Allerdyce." The James Bond motif he was going for was lost with his slurring.

"I'm Wanda." She said and managed to turn herself around to face him. He was cute. Messy, crazy orange hair, ice blue eyes. He was tall too, he stood over her even with her heels. "Your familiar." She pronounced. "Why?"

"I don't know." He said with a huge smile. It made him look crazy, and, in her opinion, exceptionally hot.

"Your hot. You should come with me." She said frankly and started to stumble away. He followed her.

"Your hot too." He said and caught her again. Damn these heels. She looked at her feet.

"My shoes are snakes." She commented. He looked at them.

"Yeah, do they bite?"

"No. Well, that one does." She said and pointed at the buckle on her left shoe. Her shoes were black with straps around the ankles. "They're being mean. I should get rid of them." She mumbled. She leaned down over John's arm. She got her shoe and fumbled with it. She couldn't get it off. "It won't come off. It's eating me."

"Let me try." He said and pulled her back up. He crouched down and fumbled with it. Somehow he managed to get it off. "There." He said and stood up fast, shoe in hand. John tumbled over. Wanda burst out laughing. She stepped forward and fell too, she still had one heel on. John laughed at her.

They used a light poll to pull themselves up. They left the shoes on the ground. "Bad snakes." Wanda scolded them.

"What now Shelia?" John asked.

"I don't know." Was Wanda's response as she once again started walking. John followed her. "Oh. I know!" She sounded so excited. "Let's play the billboard game. Whatever you see on a billboard you got to do." Wanda explained.

John looked around at billboards. One said to buy a cheeseburger. "I have to buy a cheeseburger at Burger King." John said.

"Me too." She said and grabbed his hand. They ran, the stumbling-I'm-drunk-off-my-ass-but-I-still-think-I-can-do-stuff run down the streets. The first Burger King they came to they bought cheeseburgers. Wanda didn't like them, so she gave hers to John. "Next one." Wanda said and pulled him outside.

"I don't see any." John complained.

"I do, right there." Wanda pointed. "It's a wedding."

"We have to get married then?" John clarified.

Wanda nodded. "Come on John." She pulled him into another run. They found a casino with a chapel. They had to wait a little, but then they were up.

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The minister asked John.

"I do." He slurred.

"And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." She slurred.

"Than I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." The minister said. John complied. They got into it and the minister and to force them apart. "Get a room."

So they did. After that, their memories were blank.

* * *

Three months ago. Something else:

She couldn't take the test in the drug store. It was dirty and didn't have a customer bathroom anyway. She couldn't go back to the mansion. John's then. She drove to his place and let herself in with her key. He wasn't going to be home today.

She remembered that morning. They'd both freaked out. They were married, they even had rings. Worse though, was that they finally recognized each other. They were on opposite teams. He was a bad guy, she was a good girl. She'd run away then. Two days later, back home, he'd found her. He said they had to talk. She agreed. They were discussing how best to get a divorce without anyone knowing they'd been married. One thing led to another and she woke up in his bed. It'd been like that for a while, they'd get together on the sole purpose of discussing a divorce, and then getting nowhere as their hormones took over. After two weeks they just stopped talking about anything. They never dated, went out and did normal couple things, instead they would have trysts and occasionally, spend the day together doing nothing.

She followed the directions on the box and sat down on the floor to wait. Ten minutes, she set her watch. If she had been religious, or believed in any god at all, she would have prayed. As she didn't, she was left with nothing but hoping.

She heard the door open. "Wanda?" He called. Shit, shit, shit. He wasn't supposed to be here today. "Wanda, are you here?"

Before he could find her she stepped out of the bathroom. "Yeah." She said. "I thought you weren't here today." Her voice sounded squeaky and nervous. She couldn't help it.

"Change of plans." he said and saw her. "What're you doing here if you thought I was out?"

"Um, I had to, um, use the bathroom." She lied lamely. "I was in the neighborhood, and I figured. I might as well. I mean. Instead of a drug store or something."

"Oh." He said, he didn't sound convinced. Wanda's watch beeped. She felt her eyes grow huge.

"Um, well, I gotta, um. Hold on." She said and ducked back into the bathroom.

Positive. All three tests.

She started crying.

"Wanda? Shelia, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She answered through her tears.

"Shelia, I'm coming in." He opened the door to see her crying on the floor. "Shelia." He went to her, cradled her in his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked, kissing her hair and rocking her. She just cried harder. Something slipped from her hands. John picked it up.

At first he didn't know what it was, then he had an idea. He looked up and saw the box on the counter. A little positive sign was on the stick. Something in his brain told him he should be grossed out holding something she peed on, but it was small and he didn't even notice it.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded against his neck and more tears came out. He rocked her more. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay." He said. Finally she stopped crying.

"Your not mad at me?" She whispered.

"No, no, why would I be mad at you?" he cooed. "I love you." It was the first time he'd said it. "Whatever you want. I'll be there with you. I love you Shelia." He kissed her. She sniffled. and buried her face in his neck again.

"I love you." She whispered.

* * *

Two days ago. What Crystal yelled about:

She was sulking again. Maybe he should buy her something. She liked it when he bought her things. No, she wasn't in the right mood. She'd get suspicious.

Pietro sighed. He was know as a cheater, yet he'd never cheated. When he was single, he liked to date more than one girl at once. However, when he found someone he liked enough to be his girlfriend, well. He stopped. Dating anyway. Not flirting. He was, by nature, a flirt. It was second nature to him, and it was a useful tool when he wanted something.

"You looking for something?" A pretty red head asked from behind the counter.

"Nah." Pietro answered and walked away. The mall was crowded. Crystal was out with her girlfriends today and the guys all were out. Well, except Piotr, but he would be busy drooling after Kitty. He had nothing to do today.

"Hey." That red head from before called. Pietro turned. "Are you Pietro Maximoff?" She asked. Somehow, he should be surprised that she knew him when he obviously didn't know her, but it happened so often he just went with it. He nodded. She smiled. "Walk with me? I wanna ask you something." She said.

He was bored and had nothing to do. She seemed nice enough. Might as well. He still kept his guard up, sometimes it was the nice ones that were the strangest. "So, what?" He asked.

She turned to him. "Well, um. I was wondering, if you know, you might. Oh forget it." She said and threw herself at him.He caught her and held her away from him.

"What the hell?" He demanded.

"Oh, come on." She said. "Everybody knows your a cheater."

"Well everybody is wrong." Pietro growled. She scoffed.

"Come on, just a quicky." She smirked. Pietro glared at her. He heard a gasp.

"You ass hole." Crystal shouted and ran off. Pietro watched her go.

"See what you did." He growled and pushed the red head away. "Stupid whore." He mumbled under his breath.

He left the mall and went back to the mansion. He wouldn't follow her. She'd find him eventually, to yell and scream at him no doubt. Until then, he lay in his room, staring at the ceiling.

He came to a decision. He was breaking up with Crystal. She was probably going to dump him anyway, but at least now he wouldn't care. He'd made his decision, it didn't matter who actually said it. She was too easily worked up. She got jealous over nothing. He didn't want to deal with that anymore.

* * *

Yesterday. What Logan thought:

"You. Come out. I can smell you." He said. She'd stopped, her scent had doubled back. She was waiting for him.

"You offer yourself for death." She spoke, something in her voice was familiar, though he knew he'd never heard it before. She stepped out of the tree cover. Logan was taken back. She looked like him, much more than any other person ever had who couldn't change their shape. She smelled so close to him as well. Snickt. Two metal claws thrust out of each hand. A slight ripping sound brought a part of his attention to her feet. A claw stuck from each foot. The only other person who'd ever had his claws was a cyborg. Could this girl ...

"Time to die." She said and attacked. Logan was ready. He had no idea who she was, what she was doing here. He just knew that her scent had been there and something was wrong. Now she was attacking him.

He blocked her, she wouldn't be deterred so easily. She struck out with her foot claw and pierced his chest. She flipped off him and landed in a tree. It was obvious she had fight training, each move was graceful and had the air of a planned course of action even though she was improvising.

"Who are you?" Logan asked the strange possibly cyborg girl, he ignore the pain that flared in his chest. His wound was healing already.

She said nothing, she jumped into another tree and sprung at him claws extended.

She moved quickly, he lost sight of her, yet still he heard them. He caught her arm as she lashed out. She was persistent, she seemed determined to hurt him. With her other set of claws she tried to rip his throat. He moved and she got his face. He ignored the pain and didn't let go. Whoever this was she had some explaining to do. Logan didn't appreciate being attacked for no reason. She pulled violently at her wrist, recklessly trying to make him let go. He tightened his grip. She struggled and a crack reached his ears. The girl had broken her own wrist. She didn't cry out. She was tough, he had to give her that.

Logan held tight to her broken wrist. He reached for her other hand, it was flailing and trying to attack him. No, she would calm down and answer his questions. Who was she? What was she doing here? Why did she smell like him and have his claws?

His questions would have to wait. Her feet planted on the ground. She jumped up, she had a new idea. Logan could see where this was going. She yanked down with her broken wrist and kicked at Logan's knees. He let himself go down while she twisted. She landed on top of him, her toes on his chest. Snickt. Her foot claws went through him. The claws on her other hand plunged into his arm. He loosened his grip slightly. She pulled free and jumped up.

He'd known that was coming. Let her think he was weak, then when she wasn't paying enough attention, he would get her. He felt himself get angry. She'd cut him up, he didn't like that. He had to hold onto his temper, if he didn't he might actually kill her. Not good. She hadn't answered him yet.

He charged at them, might as well make himself seem reckless. She jumped out of the way but was to slow, he caught her leg and swung them into a tree. He heard a crack. Damn, he broken their back. She lay still on the ground but he still heard her breathing. She was awake.

"Now, who are you?" Logan asked again, now she was disabled. He wiped the blood off his face and went to go to her. He'd have to have Jean look at her.

Suddenly, she got up. She smirked and jumped. Wait, what? She had his healing powers too. No, Lady Deathstrike had them too. It had to be it. She was a cyborg. But that didn't explain her scent or her facial features. Why make a female that looked like him. It seemed pointless. And who would have made her.

She pushed herself out of the tree. She liked that style, had anyone else he knew used it. Maybe, he had to many enemies to keep track of them. Her attacks were direct, he'd catch her again, but she evaded. She swung wildly with her hands and curled herself until the claws on her feet made a beeline toward his collar bone. Not so easy girlie. His anger was starting to get out hand. He didn't need to be gentle with her anymore, so he let go slightly. She could heal, now she'd get it. He easily caught her legs and threw her down. He plunged his claws into her heart meaning to pin her there.

She gasped, and stopped struggling. Good, maybe she was ready now. He cautiously removed his claws, no need to cause her unnecessary pain. She sat up, cocked her head, smiled. Shit, she wasn't done yet. Damn.

She launched at him quickly. She wildly swung and swiped. She was loosing that fighters grace. Now she thrashing blindly like a victim in a back alley would. Logan got hold of her legs despite all her thrashing and held them together. He caught a wild arm and pulled it behind her back.

He growled at her. She was annoying him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She pulled and tried to break loose. He held her fast and tried to calm himself enough to speak.

Who was she? She hadn't answered him yet. Maybe she didn't know. It wouldn't be the first time they'd got an amnesiac, he'd been one. He just hadn't had the comfort of being anywhere near Charles Xavier. This one would be luck if she would just calm down enough to stop attacking him. Whatever she was, the Professor could help her.

With her so close, and her blood on him now, he still couldn't distinguish between them well. Even twins who smelled so alike had a stronger difference than this when they bleed. Blood let out made someones scent so much strong, and all hers did was echo his. How was that possible? He had no idea.

Except he did. A whisper came to him.

Suddenly he felt pain in his chest. "Die." She said in her strangely familiar voice. Her claws, they retracted and came back. Over and over again.

It hurt him, but not nearly as much as it would be hurting her. He let go. She scrambled up and ran away, crashing into trees as she went. He wouldn't follow her, not yet.

_"How do you know you have no family?"_

The whispered voice of Destiny had come to him then. She saw the future and she had told him this. This girl, whoever she was. He knew now that she was related to him somehow. In a very strong way.

* * *

This morning. Piotr finds her note:

He didn't want to wake up from this dream, but he had too. It was a new day and he couldn't spend it in bed. He sighed and rolled onto his back. He sat up slowly, yawning.

He got dressed and was deciding whether or not he needed to shave when he spotted it. An envelope with his name on it in curly purple writing. Curious he picked it up and opened it.

_Dear Piotr,_

_Okay, so I know your probably wondering why I gave you this letter, well, I'm going to tell you. It's because I suck at talking to you. Well about anything even remotely relating to this anyway. So I wrote you a letter. I know it'll probably be just as bad as if I tried to tell you in person, but at least this way you won't hear me stutter and mumble. So, here it is._

_I love you._

_I've loved you since, actually, I can't remember when. Maybe since I met you, or a little after. I just know that I do._

_I'll understand if you don't feel anything other than friendship for me. If you already have a girlfriend or something. So all i ask is one thing._

_Get a pen. Go on, do it now before you read on._

_Good, now: Circle one below._

_YES or NO_

_If you circle YES it's because you would like to talk to me about this. Cause you might like me._

_If you circle NO it's because we're just and only friends._

_So that's it._

_Love, (Well, I don't really know what to put here,so ...)_

_Kitty._

_P.S. Please return the letter to my room. I'll be out most of today. I'm at the mall._

Piotr couldn't breathe. He reread it. No, it couldn't be. He was still dreaming. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

No, it was still there. He read it again. It still said the same things.

How, what?

He took a deep breath. He put the letter down. The glorious, unbelievable letter. The pen he'd gotten per her instructions had slipped from his hands when he read just whose name was at the bottom of the page.

He picked it up and circled YES. Maybe a little to enthusiastically. A small hole appeared where he set down the pen on the page. He picked it up and was more gentle. That done he put the letter back into the envelope and took another deep breath.

He checked her room. She was gone. He hadn't anything else to do today. He went in search of her. He didn't want to wait until she came back. He'd give it to her in person.

* * *

A talk. After seeing the Professor:

"Hi." She said. It was both easy and hard to find him. She couldn't rely to much on her nose, but she could ask around. He was just getting out of something called the Danger Room. Lexa didn't really know what that was, just that you used it to train and you could watch someone from outside.

"Hi." He said quickly.

"I attacked you."

"You did."

"You let me win." She realized that now. She'd watched him train a little. Storm had showed her how to get to the room and showed her the observation room. He didn't answer. "Want a rematch?" She smirked. "I won't hurt you too bad."

Logan let himself smile slightly. She wasn't threatening him. "Not today kid."

"Tired old man?" She teased. She could like him someday, maybe. For now, she would just say what came to mind.

"No. You're not up to it. That mental stuff gets to you more than you'd think." Logan knew from experience. There weren't any physical signs of it, but she was tired. She pouted and he laughed lightly. "What'd you say yur name was kid?"

"Lexa." She said.

"Huh, don't quite suit ya." He said honestly.

"My full name's Lexa Laura Kinney." She cocked her head and spoke, like a puppy.

"Laura, that works better for ya."

"My mother gave me that name." She said with a far off look in her eyes.

"How do ya have a mother?" Though, now that he really had a chance to look at her. She did have someone else in her. Someone tall, with blue eyes and brown hair. Her roots were showing.

"Everyone has a mother." She defended.

"Fine then." Logan said. He was talking more than he usually did, but, so was she he guessed.

"I have to go." She said suddenly. They'd stayed silent for a while. Logan just nodded and watched her go. Before she was completely out of sight she turned back. "I'd like to know you." Logan nodded again. He'd like to know her too. "Rematch." She smiled like the cheshire cat.


End file.
